#109 - The Scarlet Empress

ach - my dvd for this one had problems - sure looking forward to seeing these on the Criterion channel again instead of DVD's with flaws

This is part of a 6 movie set (or will be released as such) - of a great collabration between the sultry and erotic Marlene Dietrich, and the director Josef von Sternberg, who introduced her to America thru these 6 films.   This one was the 5th

This is an entertaining if a bit campy film about the rise of Catherine the Great, probably told just a bit ahistorical and 1930'ish.   But lord, the sets - a macabre and twisted world is constructed here - the sets and scenes and costumes are both garish and ghoulistic, cramped yet expansive - and as Marlene's daughter put it - this was the one time she had to compete with the set for attention.

I always get a kick out of seeing the 1700's characters speaking with perfect American L.A. accents - not pretending to be Russian or even medieval.   

I gotta say, I would probably be interested in the Blu-ray and absolutely want to see some more of their films together - I assume they'll be later on in the collection but in this case, this was added to the box set years after it's initial release - the only special feature was an interview with Marlene from 1971 but honestly, my DVD had a couple crucial scuffs on it that resulted in me having to find a download copy to catch a 3 minute skip at the wedding and humorously the last 4 minutes of the film

anyhow this is really good - I might get another one in before the weekend but it looks like we're getting a burst of Jacques Tati films - 3 in a row, so hey something new on the way

This was visually an incredible film - I'll save my other thoughts on Marlene for future posts as this one was literally, I think, the first film I've seen her in - can you believe it?

#108 - The Rock

Yeah...I had a basic copy of this I got my hands on - the DVD supposedly has a shitton of extra features - but I didn't care - not sure why Michael Bay is in the collection again - sorry

I literally just had this on in the background while doing some tedious work - it's a decent action movie - that's it - don't really care otherwise - moving on

RB

#107 - Mona Lisa

Didn't mean to get this far behind - sorry - think it's been a few weeks

#107 was a bit of a concern to find on Netflix before we got the Criterion Channel up and running - a Neil Jordan film starring Bob Hoskins and in her debut role, Cathy Tyson. 

Bob is a small-time gangster out of prison who gets the job of driving around Cathy Tyson, a high class call girl.    I thought both actor and actress were perfect for the role -  It is a little interesting that she also reminds me of Dil, the transgender character from Neil's film a few years later, The Crying Game - (sorry if I spoiled that for you) -  The story goes on with conflicting feelings about who the characters are and how they feel about each other. 

The song, Mona Lisa, by Nat King Cole, is all over the soundtrack, and in a way, it's perfect for Cathy's character.   Like the Mona Lisa, she isn't an easy character to read - you don't know if she loves you, is using you, or wants to shoot you - like the famous painting to some degree, we don't know what she's smiling about or what the mystery is behind the character, but it doesn't take long for us to start rooting for Bob Hoskins - (as George, the center of the film as Neil puts it) - to hopefully get the girl and get out of the business.

The CC has the director's commentary which i'd like to come back to and in one of those funny twists, because the film takes place in the 80's, we get some Genesis soundtrack as well which I did NOT expect - :)

A nice film - and I guess Bob was up for an Oscar but lost to Paul Newman - not in print on Criterion anymore but maybe out on blu-ray or up for a re-release at some point

RB

#106 - Coup de Torchon

#106 is an adaption of a West Texas pulp novel adapted for 1930's West Africa - An interesting tale about a local policeman who is pushed over the edge and begins taking his revenge

The interesting part of this movie is it reminded me of another film about a lawman gone bad, "The Killer Inside Me"  - what's really interesting is both that book and this one are written by the same author - he seems to have a certain frame of mind with this sort of writing. 

Neither the lead actor nor the director have popped up on my radar before but they appear to have quite the body of work in France - perhaps we shall see more of Bertrand in the future - it is one of those movies that at first gets you to sympathize with the main character - (like the Micheal Douglas character in "Falling Down") - you're considering the possibility that the first people this guy kills probably had it coming - and maybe another one - and then it starts to spiral

Kind of a cool DVD - an alternate ending is described - but it's out of print - so do the Netflix or library route

#105 - Spartacus

#105 has so much going on - a Hollywood epic, produced by a star who felt slighted over losing the role of Ben Hur, directed by an influential director who was unable to retain final control, and thus disavowed the film, and written by a man who essentially broke the Blacklist of Hollywood in 1960 with this film, and his name finally credited as the screenwriter for the first time in 10 years.

Unfortunately I didn't get the Criterion version of this one - there's actually some decent blu-rays out with some decent restored footage - I don't think I got the better of the two blu-ray's and none of the commentary that is on the Criterion disk.   A couple special features and deleted scenes are available, and some in fact was readded to the film, where Tony Curtis and Anthony Hopkins - (filling in for Lawrence Oliver who had passed) redubbed the audio.

Obviously this is typical of the big budget Hollywood pictures of the day, but the battle scenes are what stand out to me - especially the movement of formations -  To take 4 or 5 minutes to show the Roman formations marching into place - the giant blocks of men organizing and reorganizing on the field is something you just don't normally see.

Anyhoo I hadn't seen it - a little long at 3 hrs even with an intermission but a piece of cinema history.

#104 - Double Suicide

#104 is another funny screwball comedy - ok just kidding - what do you think it's about?

Here we have a 1969 film adapted from a 1700's stage play - the actual start of the film show puppeteers and puppets getting ready in a modern day setting, and then when the story starts we transition to live actors - but in an interesting twist, the puppeteers are still present thru the film - manipulating people - moving them towards their doom, occasionally looking distressed at the events being unfolded, and possibly serving as a...metaphor that we are controlled by forces beyond ourselves?   Not sure about that but it's what I thought when I saw it.   Perhaps it's duty and obligation and tradition controlling these characters as much as the puppeteers

A young paper maker wants to save a prostitute, while not alienating his wife - (both women are played by the same actress, Shima Iwashita, who is ALSO the director's wife - which is another interesting statement with layers) - in the end the merchant and the prostitute run away and kill themselves so they can be together forever before she's bought by another merchant - and there's some family weaving in and out of the story

I struggled a bit to get into this one but got there eventually thru my love of most Japanese cinema from this period - I even went back and rewatched the intro where the actor SEEMS to see their bodies like on the cover, at the bottom of a bridge with the puppeteers - there's just a bit of surrealism in this and the sets are more stagelike than other sets but it was a fine film overall

#103 - The Lady Eve

The Lady Eve is a fun little comedy - Barbara Stanwyck is the con artist gone good, and Henry Fonda is the innocent rich boy taken for a ride

Never heard of this film or Preston Sturges before but he did well here - I would be remiss in pointing out the character Barbara plays doesn't just seduce Henry Fonda but the rest of us as well.   Her inflate/deflate/inflate flirting is enough to leave any poor guy stymied.   I don't wanna say too much else cause to be honest, I don't wanna spoil it - but I'm just glad it wasn't another rich person melodrama like that batch of three we had back there with Sirk and the like