#96 - Written on the Wind

Another Melodramatic tale of the rich and famous (this one apparently based on a true story) - Sirk had a gift for Melodrama.

I did like this one a bit better than all that Heaven allows - the setup seems a bit more plausable - an unhappy oil family, alcoholics, and unrequited love is a bit more sell-able than "we can't get married - what would my country club friends think"

I won't get too deep into the story or plot - it's in print, it has Lauren Bacall and Rock Hudson doing Lauren and Rock - and it has an ending that gets your attention, esp. the last shot

But what sticks out to me is the supporting actress, Dorothy Malone, who won an Oscar for this film - before I knew that, I was already impressed with her performance as the seductress sister, Marylee.

She plays a character capable of great yearning, lust, sensitivity, but with a pretty wild and crazy side and I think she has some of the best scenes in the film personally.

Otherwise I'm glad to be done with the melodrama for a while - while I wait for my next film I'm going to clear out the three films I never got to a couple years ago - the wife is out of town and this is the best time to do it cause I wouldn't want anyone to see me watching them - LOL

RB

#95 - All That Heaven Allows

#95 - I didn't feel it much - This is a 1955 Romance starring two big stars at the time, Rock Hudson and Jane Wyman.   It's a story of a May-December relationship, and I'm sure it seemed a little daring at the time.

It's shot well - I really liked the color - (some of that may be the restoration but let's give the cinematographer the credit) - but it's an American movie, a not all that interesting story or compelling characters, and a construct of modern society - (the country club) that is almost laughable by today's standards

I saw it on blu-ray of all things but at least it was only 90 minutes

This is the first of two Douglas Sirk films - - I'll do some reading on him before the next one and see what his deal is

RB

Side Tangent - Chez Nous

I just got my next Criterion Blu-Ray but as i was bored of English and American Romances, I figured I'd take a detour - I stumbled onto this one from TV5 Le Monde, part of the French channel package on Sling which I had signed up for because I hoped to understand French better by listening - by and large, it hasn't worked because most of their stuff doesn't have English Subtitles

BUT this one did - it's a fascinating movie - (that would have American remake potential easily) - A young woman is recruited by a far right political party to run for mayor - the Leader and Name of the party are thinly veiled versions of Marine Le Pen and the National Front - she also falls in with one of the more extreme elements of that party, and finds the consequences of being in neighborhoods where she may not be as popular

I enjoyed it - I know enough of French politics and culture where I wasn't lost, and it was made in 2017, so it was a pretty recent film - the English Title is  "This is Our Land" - the parallels to the US are almost mind blowing but then, faux populism is popular these days

Not sure how easy it is to find outside of the Le Monde channel - but thought I'd throw it on here because I enjoyed it quite a bit

#94 - I Know Where I'm Going!

And we have the next Powell and Pressburger film, made near the end of WWII, a charming romance that uses the western Isles of Scotland as it's set to great effect.

Didn't know about this film but it's pretty popular - it stars Wendy Hiller - (who we last saw in Pygmalion) - as a woman off to the Western Isles to marry her rich industrialist fiance, but is sidetracked by the weather.

The Dialogue here is pretty good - it stood out to me the way it flowed and the conversations, and like many a great oceanside film, the scenery makes a better set than any that could be built indoors - (I'm reminded of The Shipping News which was filmed in Newfoundland - same vibe to me)

Once it started up it flowed pretty good - there's a 30 minute making of documentary from the early 90's that's fun to watch to see where the film was shot - (a lot of the castles, exterior locations and so forth are easily seen and recognizable) -

Pretty decent considering I wasn't sure what to think of another romance especially one with this title that started so, IMHO, cheesy - LOL - but very quickly you get engrossed in the scenery, culture, music, and life of West Scotland - it's a very enjoyable film with not a few special features on the DVD including an audio commentary