Friday, April 04, 2008
LuLu is very, very, VERY sick.
I have some vicious combination flu/cold/virus/bubonic plague/black death and I can’t sleep. So I think it’s only fair that you people pick up the slack and amuse me with an all movies edition this time. In the comments, if you please.
1) Favourite Hitchcock film and why.
2) Favourite Katherine Hepburn film and why.
3) And just to change things up, favourite Chinese martial arts film ... and why.
Me first.
1) Without a doubt, The Birds. I watch it every time it’s on TV and it scares me every time. I think it’s the sound the birds make ... and the fact that it’s such an unexpected and innocuous horror. Flocks of birds in a picturesque seaside village suddenly going bugshit and attacking the humans? If Hitchcock tried to pitch that nowadays, he’s be laughed out of the meeting. The man truly was ahead of his time.
2) That’s a tough one — I can’t decide between Bringing Up Baby and The African Queen (which is also my favourite Bogart film). Bringing Up Baby was the perfect vehicle for Hepburn’s and Grant’s respective comedic talents and one of the most witty and clever movies made. It was also a complete box office disaster. Go figure. And here’s an interesting piece of trivia about this movie I bet you didn’t know (who says we're not edumacashional ... not me!).
The African Queen ... Bogie’s only Oscar-winning performance which is an absolute crime. The way the characters of Charlie and Rose develop through the course of the movie is outstanding. They begin as stereotypes — Hepburn as the prim, condescending missionary and Bogie as the drunken sea captain — but become two of the most richly drawn characters I’ve ever seen in a movie. The entire plot hinges on their relationship and neither one of them ever misses a beat.
3) Hero with Jet Li and the incomparable Maggie Cheung, who completely steals this film as Flying Snow. I have no problem admitting that her death scene with Broken Sword makes me cry every time I watch it. And the cinematography is so hauntingly beautiful, it almost distracts from what is quite a compelling plot.
Your turn.
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28 comments:
1. Hitchcock - The Birds. Much for the same reason as you, but I get rather a charge out of the introduction of the hint of feminism throughout the film which gets dashed when "Mitch" goes all hero, saving "Melanie" because she's a gurrrlll. (Why couldn't Melanie save Mitch?)
There is also the fact that at one point, a long time ago, I thought Tippi Hedren was just the hottest thing on two legs.
2. Hepburn - Same again. African Queen. It was just an exceptional film. (Still is.) Also, I can relate to Bogart's character. Was African Queen written as a stage play?
3. Chinese martial arts film - Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. The technical aspects of the film were excellent. It was based on one of the wuxia stories which we used to get when I was kid. Since all films of that genre are fantasies, it cool to see one done as a movie.
1) Dial M For Murder, because it's a great plot, and it kept me on the edge of my seat right up to the finish -- every time I watch it.
2) Lion in Winter because she really got to strut her stuff. But then, she always got to strut, so this was a difficult choice. My second favorite would be Philadelphia Story.
3) I don't watch Chinese martial arts films.
The African Queen was a novel by C.S. Forester which I've always meant to read but never have ... it was adapted to the screen by James Agee and John Huston.
The Birds. They patience of the movie, how the birds gather slowly, how they peck through walls..made the attacks feel inevitable, unstoppable. I liked not knowing what caused the attacks, how widespread they were, and if they would continue. Kept the focus on the event and felt more real because we don't always know all the answers.
Lion in Winter. Hepburn is majestic. No one like her since.
an aside - have you ever seen "Frogs?" I always thought someone was trying to do a reptile version of The Birds, but failed...miserably. I watch it oftn though because it's hilarious.
1) Favourite Hitchcock film and why.
Without a doubt, Carnival of the Souls. With this movie, Hitchcock hit a high point, distilling the dark side of humanity he couldn't help but observe and unleashing it on to an audience too cynical or too jaded to care anymore about where humanity was heading.
2) Favourite Katherine Hepburn film and why.
Heart of Darkness. Although I didn't watch the film, I read the book in high school and Oliver Stone's patience with an actor as difficult as Hepburn speaks both to his seriousness and her commitment to her craft.
3) And just to change things up, favourite Chinese martial arts film ... and why.
Seven Samurai. As the kids say, "'nuff said."
Love, Patrick Ross.
Hilarious ... and now your real answers, Mr. Smarty-Pants?
Amuse Teh LuLu? Mais oui, certainment.
1) Wooo boy. Toss up between North by Northwest and Rear Window
NxNW - Ad man mistaken for government agent, pursued across America by a mysterious, secretive organization with shady motives; Iconic scenes - teh railway crossing, Mt. Rushmore etc..; an attck of vertigo; a terrific score by Bernard Herrmann; the title sequence; oh, plus Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason? Sounds like a winner
Rear Window - a murder mystery tied to an examination of the ethics of marriage and voyeurism. Again, well cast - Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly, Thelma Ritter and New Westminster, BC's Raymond Burr as the evil killer, Lars Thorwald. Great film.
2) Also going with African Queen for all the reasons already listed. I'm a huge fan of Bogey's. Plus, isn't Charlie also a Canadian?
3) Have to go with the first one I ever saw. The first is always special, non?
Way of the Dragon. First Bruce Lee movie I saw, and I mean I saw that on big screen when it was released in North America in 1972. Saw Enter The Dragon the following year. Yes, given the advances in film technology and special effects today they both look somewhat cheesy nowadays. But, no matter how the others have tried there's never quite been another like Bruce Lee.
Hilarious ... and now your real answers, Mr. Smarty-Pants?
I'm a French-Canadian, Lulu. I barely know who Hitchcock is.
...;)
1) The Birds. I liked it better than Psycho.
2) African Queen. It's the only Hepburn film I ever saw.
3) Have never seen one. Does Kill Bill count?
an aside - have you ever seen "Frogs?" I always thought someone was trying to do a reptile version of The Birds, but failed...miserably. I watch it oftn though because it's hilarious.
"Frogs"? Bwahahahaha.
But, in the 'eco-terror' category, still no where near as bad as Food of the Gods starring the immortal(?) Marjoe Gortner (and filmed on Bowen Island, BC).
1. Marnie
2. The Glass Menagerie
3. Around The World in 80 days. I'm a sucker for Steve Coogan. Jackie chan was excellent!
Dunno about the first two, but the third is Shaolin Master Killer, which is surprisingly good despite the name.
1. Rope. A little known Hitchcock treatment of the Leopold Loeb murder. James Stewart and Stewart Granger were brilliant.
2. There are so many that it's hard to chose. I loved her in the Philadelpy8ia story, yet, how could one forget On Golden Pond. Ergo, since there are so many I will divorce myself. Love her, love her, love her
2. Drunken Shaolin Monk - without a doubt one of the best. Hammiest to the nth degree, yet full of the requisite martial arts action. I loved it, but can't find it on DVD, sheesh.
Hmmm...
1) Pick one? No fair. Let's see, there's Vertigo starring an absolutely luminous Kim Novak and Hitchcock ensemble fave Jimmy Stewart. The plot twists and turns and misleads, there are stunning feats of cinematography and the rack focus/dolly zoom effect that is still a staple effect today. This may well be Hitchcock's masterwork.
But I still do love The Birds, North By Northwest and Rear Window but a personal dark horse favourite is still Spellbound for the sake of the Salvador Dali designed dream sequence. Teh awesome!
2. Hepburn... Adam's Rib. Kate and Spencer Tracy had so much chemistry and she is the prototype of the strong, accomplished and modern woman. Two headstrong lawyers face off in a courtroom and the legal conflict spills over into their own lives, since they're also married to one another. Liza Esser's dialogue sparks and the delivery and obvious passion of the two actors makes for a cracking fun story. And I had to pick something other than African Queen.
3) Enter the Dragon. First time I ever saw Bruce Lee (Green Hornet doesn't count) and my friends and I spent weeks trying to emulate the wild fight scenes. Which amounted to a lot of scrawny kids yowling like scalded cats and hopping into awkward positions and yelling Hi-Yaw at each other.
Get better soon LuLU sugar.
You so sweet, PSA ...
My favourite movie of all time remains "North by Northwest". It's a smart and fun tale, with all of Hitchcock hallmarks, and a heck of a travel story to boot. My favourite scene remains the moments just _before_ the crop duster attacks. Great tension!
African Queen would be my favourite Katherine Hepburn movie, and I haven't really gotten into Chinese martial arts films, sorry. But "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is brilliant.
Rear Window. Just love the whole story, the way it was filmed with Hitchcock's amazing eye for the details....
Adams Rib, which also had Judy Holliday.
I have never watched a Chinese martial arts film. lol. Bores me silly. :) Even the spoofs make me nod off.
I'm not much of a movie watcher.
1. I think "Rear Window" is the only Hitchcock movie I have seen all the way through.
2. Same with Hepburn, I have only seen all of "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"
3. It is only a short sequence but the martial arts sequence in "The Matrix" should qualify, since the scenes were done by Hong Kong director Yuen Wo Ping.
But my favourite has to be Bruce Lee in the Green Hornet meets Batman episode. Kato fights Robin to a "tie" according to the script, but when you watch it, he is literally flying rings around Burt Ward.
The Birds, African Queen and Rush Hour.
The Birds because of the pecked-out eyes scene -- scariest thing I ever saw back then.
African Queen because it not only had Hepburn but Bogart.
Rush Hour because I watched it as I was recuperating from a motorcycle accident and the movie was full of motorcycle accidents that were way worse than mine.
(OTOH, I was pretty well-medicated -- there were motorcycle accidents in Rush Hour, weren't there?)
Get well soon, Lulu dear.
1. Love North by Northwest and To Catch a Thief and Vertigo and Rope and Rear Window but Psycho still scares the piss out of me every single time. My brother and I used to scare each other shitless by knocking on the bathroom door and calling out in a mock old lady voice "Norman! Are you in there?" and then shutting off the bathroom light while the other guy was in the shower. The music alone make the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
2. love the Hepburn! She's terrific in everything. Love African Queen but I think Bringing up Baby is more fun.
3.Drunken Master!! But i love anything with Jackie Chan, he has such a great comic touch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj4GJfPsk6o
And if I could do any job in the world, being the foley artist on a martial arts movie would be high on the list!
oh, hell; let's see.
1) Hitchcock
I have to confess I'm not a big Hitchcock fan, but I think that that's more a function of just having not watched many of his movies. But I did like North by Northwest because everything in it seemed to gel so well: plot, settings, dialogue, acting. It's just a really well put together film that keeps you interested.
2) Hepburn
"Holiday" with Cary Grant and Everett Horton. Kate's a carefree, young, heartbreakingly beautiful free spirit stifled by her wealthy family's ways, and she does her level best to keep Cary Grant from being sucked down by their conformity. I fell in love with Kate in this movie. Damn, what a fine woman!
3) I don't watch martial arts films as they've never interested me but for one exception, the original "Karate Kid". Noriyuke "Pat" Morita's portrayal as a sensei/friend/mentor/father figure to Ralph Maccio was wonderfully subtle and well crafted in a film that could have easily slipped into cliche and sometimes did. But his Mr. Miyagi was still a wonderful character that retained it's dignity and humanity throughout the film. I still watch for it when it comes on TV.
Cheers,
N.
Sorry to hear you’re feeling under the weather. Time for some habanero rum toddies... Good for what ails ya.
Anyway, onto business…
Hard to pick a favourite Hitchcock film. Probably Strangers on a Train because it’s such a wickedly delicious concept. But there are several others that could easily rank as my “favourite” such as Shadow of a Doubt and Suspicion.
Favourite Hepburn movie without doubt would have to be The Philadelphia Story. The plot is fairly hackneyed, but it’s still a delight to watch every time out. Hepburn is absolutely ravishing in every respect and of course Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart are wonderful foils.
Martial arts movies… Well, what do you think? I saw Enter the Dragon when I was a kid, but haven’t seen one since. Not my cup of tea at all.
Ah, Lulu! I hope your immune system kicks the crap out of this plague with a quickness!
1. Psycho. 'S gotta be, simply for all of the cheesy imitations of various scenes that came after (Chevy Chase standing in the shower door with a banana, anyone?). Oh, and it's a fascinating story, too. ;-)
2. The only Hepburn film I've seen was African Queen, and that was when I was six and didn't understand a thing, so I'll have to sit this category out.
3. Ogods, do I have to choose? Fearless was incredible - I went out of the theatre with a completely altered state of consciousness. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - delicious. Drunken Master (the ORIGINAL, mind) was the greatest comedy ever! One of these days I really must learn drunken boxing...
Take care, my dear!
I'm late to the LuLu fluwatch, so late that I hope you're already better, LL.
1. There are some Hitchcocks I can't watch -- it's better that I don't even think about Vertigo, eg, just too utterly creepy. Strangers on a Train is still the scariest but most gripping, imho, and North by Northwest is the most charming.
2. I love Summertime, wherein Hepburn plays a middle-aged American schoolmarm visiting Venice for the first time and is (very slowly) romanced by Rossano Brazzi (aka the most beautiful man ever born). Their flirtation lasts for most of the movie, and it is hilarious and touching. Did I mention that Rossano Brazzi was the most beautiful man ever born? I think you could teach someone how to speak English from nothing but The Philadelphia Story, and African Queen is magnificent, but only with Summertime do you get Rossano Brazzi, who was, btw, the most beautiful man ever born.
I can't do #3. But I can tell you quite a lot about Rossano Brazzi.
1. The 39 Steps
2. Bringing Up Baby
I have not as yet watched any martial arts films. I think Carnival of Souls was a 1962 film by Herk Harvey.
Its called the "100 day flu" in the nursing homes around here. If you just got it now, you should be over it by May.
Try reading "Infidel" by Hirisi Ali. You'll have plenty plenty time to get through the whole thing.
Better late than never.
1) This one's tough. I like different ones for different reasons. Rear Window tops the list as my favourite thriller. Marnie because of Hedren's performance and the complexity of the character study. Psycho, of course, largely for its brilliant plotting. And one nobody's mentioned: Frenzy, because it displays Hitchcock's sick, twisted sense of humour in its fullest glory. The potato truck scene will be with me forever.
2) Philadelphia Story for the young Kate, and Lion in Winter as her finest mature role. Her and Peter O'Toole playing off of each other is positively delicious to watch.
3) I don't really watch martial arts movies.
Get better soon, sweets!
Hope you're all better by now.
Re: martial arts films: Especially if you're a person who "doesn't watch martial arts films," I recommend the trilogy "Once Upon a Time in China." It's like a Western about late 19th-century foreign devils encroaching on Chinese territory and business etc., but with historical political slant from a Chinese nationalist (small N there) perspective, which Westerners seldom bother to expose ourselves to. Good fight scenes, too. It's entertaining and thought-provoking at just the right level of dumbth for a sick person whose brain might not be quite up to The Critique of Pure Reason or anything like that.
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