The Third Man (1949 Carol Reed)

Screenplay Graham Greene, who also narrates the splendid opening voiceover (and written, apparently, uncredited, by Welles (certainly the cuckoo clock speech), Reed and producer Alexander Korda).

Ph. Robert Krasker (AA). The film has a distinctive melancholy all its own. Zither music (Anton Karas) gives it a whole unique dimension. It's one of the most atmospheric and dazzling British films ever made.

Fine cast: Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli (The Paradine Case, The Spider's Stratagem, Suspiria), Orson Welles, Trevor Howard, Bernard Lee ("Be careful sir" after he's slugged Holly), Paul Hörbiger (porter), Ernst Deutsch (Baron Kurtz, Isle of the Dead), Siegfried Breuer (the deliciously oily Popescu).

Joseph Cotten, Bernard Lee, Trevor Howard

Incredible opening - editing, by Oswald Halfenrichter, who had an international career in Germany, France, England and Italy; though we can be sure Carol Reed was supervising very, very closely (the following from Encountering Directors by Charles Thomas Samuels (1972)

CHARLES THOMAS SAMUELS: How much supervision do you give your editor?

CAROL REED: I edit as I go along—during the lunch break. I never take lunch in the studio; I don't like to sit down or see anyone else sitting down. I feel more lively when I stand. I go into the cutting room at one every day to see the previous day's rushes. Then each Saturday I work with the editor (if we're not shooting) so that the final cut only takes two days after shooting's done.

CHARLES THOMAS SAMUELS: Your editing is very brisk.

CAROL REED: David Lean told me I cut too much.

CHARLES THOMAS SAMUELS: He cuts too little.

CAROL REED: [...] a director must work with his editor. Directing is conveying to actors what you had in mind while working with the author. After that, the editor must understand not only what you did on the floor, but what the author had in mind—a man the editor's never even met.

No other film is on such a tilt.

Utterly brilliant, time and time again.

Real falling leaves? Never been able to find out.

Wreckers (2011 Dictynna Hood & scr)

Feature debut.

Benedict Cumberbatch, Claire Foy, Shaun Evans, Peter McDonald, Sinead Matthews

Catches pace of rural / country life, with dramatic eruptions.

Ultimately though it doesn't really add up to anything. (We wonder whether she kept the right brother.)

Ph Annemarie Lean-Vercoe.

Pretty in Pink (1986 Howard Deutch)

Molly Ringwald, Jon Cryer, Andrew McCarthy, James Spader, Annie Potts, Andrew Dice Clay (none of whom had very successful careers) and Harry Dean Stanton.

With the name 'Duck' it's no wonder Cryer isn't getting any female attention.

Vile in pink

Funny to see gross clothing habits of eighties teens. Pretty much all the girls in it are Bitchy Cuntingtons. Not very interesting any more.

Ph. Tak Fujimoto. Ed. Richard Marks
Scr. John Hughes

The Descendants (2011 Alexander Payne)

Written by Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, based on a novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings.

George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Nick Krause, Beau Bridges, Matthew Liddard (right after I said I hoped I'd see him in something else soon). I think Payne is good at getting great performances.

Thank Wilder for Clooney, as an actor, a producer (and director) and as a man. He has that same star quality as someone like Cary Grant, but is much more active than just an actor.

Really good, well-written and acted film about family ("families are like archipelagos") affected by mother's infidelity and accident. And great line from Krause to Miller "Easy there, half pipe!" Subtle stuff e.g. Krause's family history.

Nice compositions above courtesy Phedon Papamichael (in Panavision), ed. Kevin Tent (both also Sideways).

Kaua'i and Hawaii look windy and stormy. "Paradise? Paradise can go fuck itself." Our second film in Hawaii recently.

The Bank Dick (1940 Edward F. Cline)

W.C. Fields as 'Edward Sousé, with a grave accent' (of course it is an acute), Cora Witherspoon, Una Merkel, Franklin Pangborn (as J. Pinkerton Snoopington).

Written by Mahatma Kane Jeeves! Characters also includes A. Pismo Clam!

Had quite severe double-vision by this time and was finding it hard to follow. Not sure we finished it.

I always thought it was about a bank guard who became a film director, but actually it's the other way round, whether or not such fine details really matter.

You'd think this would be an early film from Milton Krasner, better known for colour widescreen films of the fifties, but in fact he'd already shot about 60 by this time!

The Mad Miss Manton (1938 Leigh Jason)

Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Sam Levene (some Thin Man films), Hattie McDaniel.

It's always great to see Hattie.

Written by Philip Epstein, story Wilson Collison

Smooth photography Nick Musuraca. Music Roy Webb (didn't even notice it).

Has the slight feel of a school play, but gets going as Miss Manton and her band of girls investigate murders and attempt to clear name to newspaper editor Fonda, whilst driving cop Levene to distraction.

Barbara Stanwyck giving it to Sam Levene

Micmacs (2009 Jean Jeunet)

Incredibly coincidentally stars Dany Boon, who co-wrote, directed and starred in Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis (the original Benvenuti al Sud), and who has a great face. Distictively coloured as all Jeunet films are (this one shot by Tetsuo Nagata, who also did the amazing Tautou / Chanel No. 5 / Orient Express ad), this is a unique experience. Oddball cast: Jean-Pierre Marielle ('slammer'), Yolande Moreau (mother), Julie Ferrier (contortionist), Omar Sy, Dominique Pinon (human cannonball).

Many funny moments e.g. explosion that causes the calendar to 'strip'. Bizarre electronic puppets. Brilliantly clever and funny finale.

Great idea to use Max Steiner music (whether it's all from The Big Sleep I'm not sure) and it sounds fantastic recreated and newly recorded.

Django Unchained (2012 Quentin Tarantino & scr)

Always a major event; no disappointment. Loved Q's remark that the gore reminded her of La Tomatina tomato festival in Italy!

Loved character of the urbane bounty hunter, whose horse bows on introduction, played to perfection by Christoph Waltz, acting his way into his second Oscar for Quentin (the screenplay won also). Jaimie Foxx, Leonardo di Caprio, Samuel L Jackson ('where did he find this great old character actor', I mused for at least 10 minutes) are all perfect. Also with: Kerry Washington, 'with the friendly participation of [the original Django] Franco Nero', Don Johnson, Bruce Dern, Don Stroud, Jonah Hill and Quentin himself with an odd Australian accent.

Shot by Robert Richardson with some lovely images e.g. Waltz in firelight, flashback stuff. Typically eclectic soundtrack choice. Fred Raskin has replaced the sadly-missed Sally Menke (he was assistant on Kill Bill).

Not as talky as some of his films; though loved the exchange between the Klan members. And quips like when Mrs Django faints "You silver-tongued devil".

Blazing Saddles (1974 Mel Brooks)

A wholly appropriate follow-on from Django Unchained. Andrew Bergman wrote the story and co-scripted with Brooks, Norman Steinberg, Richard Pryor (apparently hoping for the lead role himself) and Alan Uger.

Cleavon Little & Gene Wilder, Harvey Korman, Slim Pickens, Madeline Kahn.

The funny bits of old are still funny ('I'd like to extend to you this laurel, and hardy handshake', 'Telegram for Mongo' etc.) but it's lost a bit of its appeal over time, and is rather roughly directed (Joseph Biroc is behind the camera).

Cleavon was in Vanishing Point and as a hospital doctor in TV show Temperatures Rising before this; ended up mainly on TV; though did act on stage in I'm Not Rappaport.

Benvenuti al Sud (2010 Luca Miniero)

Broader than I was expecting, and lacking the bite of an Ealing comedy, this is nevertheless a warm and funny comedy in which hapless Claudio Bisio not only fails to secure a posting in Milano but (worse than being fired) is transferred to southern Castellabate, actually quite a distance from Napoli (but as we all know, anywhere south of Rome is Arabia). Naturally everyone is lovely and there are lots of jokes (quite well caught through subtitling) about regional dialects, and some funny lines e.g. Alessandro Siani complaining to mama about the amount she fed him because he had a tape worm - "With that amount of food I must have had a tape python".

Scr. Massimo Gaudioso (Gomorrah), and based on Bienvenue Chez les Sh'tis (the same story set in France) by Dany Boon, Alexandre Charlot and Franck Magnier (and the most successful film in France).

The locals Valentina Lodovini, Giacomo Rizzo, Nando Paone et al. all turn out to be lovely, of course. Here's Bisio trying out the 'Milanese no' in declining coffee:

Naike Rivelli, the tasty traffic cop, is also a Playboy centrefold (and her mother was the famous and similarly not shy Italian actress Ornella Muti.  (The immediate traffic jam he faces will meet a laugh from anyone who's driven in the south.)

Finale, where entire town enact the north's version of 'il sud' is hilarious. And remember, when an outsider comes to the South...

A big hit in Italy. A sad sting is in the final dedication, to Angelo Vassallo:

"Towards the end, when the camera tracks along the coast, it takes in the port of Acciaroli, the birthplace of a brave mayor, Angelo Vassallo, who refused to bow to the demands of property developers in league with organised crime. On 5 September, Vassallo was shot dead." (The Guardian 15 October 2010.)

Beat the Devil (1953 John Huston)

Filming was delayed when Huston and Bogart were involved in a car accident en route to Naples (Italian driver) and Bogie had his front teeth knocked out. Much of the filming was at the Villa Cimbrone in Ravello, where the Terrazza dell'Infinito scene is shot:

Bogie and Jones in splendid crane shot over the Terrazza dell'Infinito by Oswald Morris, operated by Freddie Francis

Nimbly scripted, really offbeat, quirky adventure, set in Ravello and unidentified North Africa, defies description. Great cast gives interesting performances. Bogie is involved in dodgy African mining plot with Robert Morley, Peter Lorre, Marco Tulli and psychotically unpleasant Major, Ivor Barnard (who died soon after). Bogie is married to Gina Lollabrigida but still finds the energy to romance fantasist Jennifer Jones, who's in turn married to oddball Edward Underdown. Mario Perrone (corrupt, smiley ship's officer), Saro Urzi (drunken captain), Manuel Serano (Arab, oddly not credited) and Bernard Lee also feature.

Huston definitely liked making films about people who are outside of their normal habitats.

Ralph Kemplen edited (several Hustons, and Day of the Jackal). Screenplay by Huston and Truman Capote, from the novel by James Helvick. Lorre delivers this quotable gem:

"Time. Time. What is time? The Swiss manufacture it, French hoarde it, Italians squander it, Americans say it is money, Hindus say it does not exist. You know what I say? I say time is a crook!"

Great framing as well:

Jennifer Jones, Humphrey Bogart, Robert Morley, Gina Lollabrigida

Why we watched a copy I made off a VHS video rather then buy a decent print I do not know.

Trouble with the Curve (2012 Robert Lorenz)

I don't know why Clint (normally a shrewd producer) chose to appear in Randy Brown's wholly predictable debut script, which doesn't really have anything interesting to say about working and ageing and parent-child relationships (or optometry, baseball or baseball scouts).

Amy Adams, Justin Timberlake (not a great role for him), John Goodman, Bob Gunton (Shawshank Redemption) and Robert Patrick are all OK, leaving The Descendants' Matthew Lillard (aka Scooby Doo's Shaggy) to stand out in the role of unlikeable agent. Hope to see more of him.

Matthew Lillard, Robert Patrick & John Goodman shot by Tom Stern

Best bit involves peanut guy Jay Galloway:

Look, I couldn't even be bothered to get a screen shot in the right aspect ratio!

Shot by Eastwood regular Tom Stern

Parenthood (1989 Ron Howard)

A familiar friend that's gone a bit squidgy over time. Well, I suppose it always was (e.g. too many cutaways to cute kids - judicious editing would be welcome). Blow job reference alone surely isn't enough to make it a 15 though?

Of cast, Helen Shaw (who made it to 100 in 1997) has the great rollercoaster anecdote that leads to perhaps Ron's most cinematic moment (possibly though already written into Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel's script?). Interesting that many of them (e.g. Tom Hulce, Martha Plimpton and Rick Moranis) didn't go far.

Diane Weist is great of course; Keanu Reeves at his most natural; Leaf (Joaquin) Phoenix showing signs of things to come; honorable mention to Eileen Ryan as Hulce's long-suffering mother.

Aspect ratio mystery finally sorted = it was shot open matte. Blu-Ray presents it 1.85:1 like in cinemas.

Till the End of Time (1946 Edward Dmytryk)

Another rarely shown but interesting offering from BBC2, tucked safely away at 6 AM when no one is watching.

Quite meaty study of post WW2 veterans' various adjustments to life - to show Guy Madison actually crying must have seemed quite shocking - is of course no Best Years of Our Lives but definitely watchable. Dorothy McGuire is against type as widowed 'tramp', Mitchum in cheerful early role, Bill Williams the amputee and Jean Porter the rather too keen 15 year old neighbour (though Guy's mum has no problem with her come-ons).

Some good jive lingo too.

Ph. Harry Wild, Music Leigh Harline, for RKO.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010 Oliver Stone)

Hmm. Overly tricksy, pumped up film can't disguise the fact it's not very engaging, nor actually that credible.  Nor is anyone but Carey Mulligan likable.

Stop trying to make my wife cry!

Michael Douglas 'plays' Shia LaBoeuf (who I always assumed was a girl), and they are ably supported by the likes of Josh Brolin (who, tellingly, was cast by Woody Allen in Melinda and Melinda before the Coens vitalised his career), Frank Langella, Austin Pendleton, Susan Sarandon and especially Eli Wallach (note cross reference: Shia's phone plays Good the Bad and the Ugly theme) who has one or two scene steals.

Didn't understand some of the financial stuff. In contrast, audience is somewhat patronised by titles which read 'Zurich, Switzerland' and 'London, England', just in case we're not sure where they are.

Photographed by Rodrigo Prieto in Panavision.

Fifty First Dates (2004 Peter Segal)

In the mould of Groundhog Day (George Wing only wrote one other film, then sensibly took up a real occupation in a circus) and populated by somewhat broad and farcical characters (muscle-building brother, stoned Hawaiian, androgynous marine assistant) set against endless background music tracks, 50 FIRST DATES is nevertheless enjoyable, widescreen, Hawaiian romcom-with-a-twist fun.

Cast: Adam Sandler, Drew (grand-daughter of John and grand-neice of Lionel) Barrymore, Rob Schneider (in lots of makeup), Sean Astin (brother), Lusia Strus (not really that questionable-looking), Dan Aykroyd (doctor), Amy Hill (diner owner), Blake Clark (father), Pomaika'i Brown (with the cleaver) and Maya Rudolph. Plus highly trained penguin and walruses.

The book Drew is reading is Still Life with Woodpecker.
 

"I like your hair, Mary!"

(500) Days of Summer (2009 Marc Webb)

An antidote to the rom-com, this effective comedy-drama jumps around in time like Two For the Road to dissect the relationship. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel are both great (Eric Steelburg is the cameraman, who's in close for much of the action):

  

Mark Webb uses some creative touches, e.g. the relationship filtered through Bergmanesque film clips:

and a most effective split-screen expectations vs reality sequence:

It was written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (both relative newbies).

The happy ending is perhaps unnecessary (studio fear?)

Rest of cast: friends are Geoffrey Arend & Matthew Gray Gubler, sister is the great Chloe Grace Moretz, Clark Gregg (greetings card boss) was in State and Main, which is probably why he looks familiar.

Untouchable (2011 Olivier Nakache, Eric Toledano & scr)

Francois Cluzet (Tell No One) stars with Omar Sy, who relishes the part of a lifetime (he won the César for best actor; film won David di Donatello for best foreign film and was nominated for BAFTA). He's utterly charismatic from the word go; it's like meeting Jean Dujardin for the first time, though Cluzet's good too considering the physical limitations of his role.

Anne Le Ny also great as Yvonne. Audrey Fleurot is from Spiral.

The car chase makes a great beginning.

We laughed out loud a lot.

Le Deux Magots is featured.

Ph.  Mathieu Vadepied

The true story can be found here:

Still friends: Phillippe Pozzo di Borgo and Abdel Sellou

Pranzo di Ferragosto (2008 Gianni de Gregorio & scr)

A real single-hander and quite a surprise coming from the writer of Gomorrah. Gianni casts himself in amusing tale of hard-up man caring for mama who takes in a variety of elderly women who are being abandoned by their offspring during the August holiday.

The women (left to right below) are Valeria di Franciscis (who is also in Gianni's Gianni e le Donne), Maria Cali, Marina Cacciotti  and Grazia Cesarini Sforza, none of whom are professionals, with Luigi Marchetti centre seated next to Gianni, pouring the obligatory wine.

It's not just a feel good film though with the mercenary sting in the final moment.

The Captain's Paradise (1953 Anthony Kimmins)

Then on to Gibralter and North Africa, between which Alec Guinness skippers ship from Celia Johnson to Yvonne De Carlo, achieving the 'paradise' lifestyle of the title. Charles Goldner is the officer relating the story to uncle Miles Malleson, with Bill Fraser, Ferdy Mayne (as sheik!) and Peter Bull.

Location settings and racy behaviour of De Carlo must have been pleasing to poor, post-war ration-stricken Britain; content is a bit more meaty than simple 'girl in every port' comedy and reminds me of the Woody Allen short story about the man who combined the brains of his intelligent girlfriend and the body of the sexy one - then fell for the girl leftover from both!

The irony of course is if he'd let them both change he would have been back in paradise. Good fun.

Ph. Ted Scaife. Music: Malcolm Arnold. A London film.

Publicity still?

Please can't I cook for you?

Experiment Perilous (1944 Jacques Tourneur)

Good beginning in train in storm where George Brent (from tons of Bette Davis movies) meets slightly crazy Olive Blakeney, who promptly dies - that's the way to begin a film; and good fiery finale. It's what happens in the middle that's a bit iffy, with a bewildered looking Hedy Lamarr in a variety of unfortunate dresses being psychologically twisted by suave nutter Paul Lukas (Dodsworth, The Lady Vanishes).

Actually it had quite a few preumbrations (I think I've just invented that word) of Vertigo with its story of a professional being asked to look after a disturbed wife by a wealthy older husband; who becomes obsessed by her (ignoring his (girl)friend); with motif involving flowers.

There's an impressively fast crane shot which seems to zoom in on a passing carriage, filmed by Tony Gaudio, who's usually over at Warner Brothers along with Brent (this is an RKO picture). Roy Webb cleverly underscores everything with his typically appropriate and good music (he has a number of fine scores amongst his 262 credits including most - if not all - of the Lewton / RKO horrors).

To be honest, I didn't even take in it was a period piece, so I either wasn't paying attention, or the production values were quite low.

Shopgirl (2005 Anand Tucker)

Scr Steve Martin from his novella.

Claire Danes (who always slightly reminds me of a spaniel) doesn't quite get on with Jason Schwartzman and switches to rich older man Steve Martin, who plays fairly unsympathetically and (it's tempting to guess) more like his true self.

Horror film framing / lighting?

Shot in a serious, dark, rich pallette by Peter Suschitzky, who you'll more usually find shooting a David Cronenberg film, and quite statically staged. (One of the artists exhibiting in a gallery scene is Ilona Suschitzky, who we must assume is a relative.)

Underpinned by the wonderfully-named Barrington Pheloung's ambient (not quite the right word) music, the film feels like it needs a shot of adrenaline. Saks Fifth Avenue looks like a gloomy place, and the assistant shopgirl (played by Bridgette Wilson-Sampras) is a right Bitchy Cuntington.

I'll Do Anything (1994 James L Brooks & scr)

Q picked all the films today as a punishment for yesterday's Spielberg madness.

Nick Nolte, Whittni Wright (who thankfully didn't stay in the business), Albert Brooks, Julie Kavner, Joely Richardson (and, fleetingly, Woody Harrelson)
ph. Michael Ballhaus

Isn't as distinctive as other Brooks film, doesn't work quite as well, not sure why. Doesn't have enough 'Simpsons' moments.

His films seems to be about coping with loss / adjustment e.g. Good As It Gets, Terms of Endearment.

Kavner's character funny as medication has made her unable to talk anything but the truth.

This was the film that was famously shot as a musical, then had the songs removed. Considering part of the story is about audience reaction to test screenings that's quite ironic.

Mother (1996 Albert Brooks & co-scr)

Along with Defending Your Life the most successful Brooks film, written with Monica Johnson.

Debbie Reynolds is a joy as the mother of Brooks and desperately needy Mummy's boy Rob Morrow.

The 'museum' of food' scene is maybe my favourite in all his films.

ph. Lajos Koltai (Malena; mostly in Hungary)

The Ladykillers (1955 Alexander Mackendrick)

scr. William Rose (he also wrote Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? and The Secret of Santa Vittoria).

Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom, Peter Sellers (one of his first), Danny Green, Katie Johnson ("Mrs. Lopsided") (BAFTA Best Actress), Jack Warner, Philip Stainton, Frankie Howerd, Kenneth Connor.

Shot by the great Otto Heller, whose first 150 films were in Czechoslovakia (since 1918), then he made a hundred more here.

The last great Ealing is almost text-book example of great direction. Note careful positioning of Lom, clouds of steam, scenes with doors opening.

Jack Harris, who cut Lean's early films, edited. Seth Holt has graduated to associate producer.

The crazy house was designed by Jim Morahan.

I had never noticed that as each member of the gang succumbs, the music on the background record has been rerecorded with their relevant instrument missing!

Schindler's List (1993 Steven Spielberg)

It would have been Billy Wilder's last film ("But maybe mine wouldn't have been as great as Steven's") - what he would have made of it is a fascinating guessing game - in Spielberg's hands it's almost too big for review or comment. I sure was in trouble for putting it on. Still, it needs seeing every twenty years or so.

Ben Kingsley, Liam Neeson, and my alter ego Ralph Fiennes star, with a large cast of unknowns. Steve Zaillian won one of seven Oscars for his adapted screenplay. Spielberg won for film and director, as did Janusz Kaminski, making it look like Charles Lang had shot it, if such a thing is possible in this horror - the Auschwitz scenes in the snow are a standout; and overall it kept making me think of the Stroop report photos:

So did Spielberg regulars John Williams (an excellent decision to under-Hollywoodise the music score), Michael Kahn (editor) and art direction.

Utterly devastating. And for that reason, difficult to study objectively as a film. Obviously, we both cried quite a bit. Q said she doesn't ever want to watch it again. It's an endurance test for the soul. I had to go for a walk afterwards, and the trees and sky seemed to have an unbearable beauty.

Should be required viewing in sixth form. This, in a week when a 93 year old former Auschwitz guard is put on trial, and anti-Semetic activity is on the rise in Hungary... It's a difficult film to recover from, and that probably makes it unique.

In my journal I wrote it was 'Spielberg's antidote to Spielberg films', but I'm not sure if that was an original comment or not.