Recently viewed and otherwise.

I recently saw "Bridge on the River Kwai" for the first time. While it was a good movie, and enjoyable, I wasn't blown away, as I was expecting to be (probably my fault). I did think the set design and technical crew did a fantastic job considering the time period, but other than that, I was almost lost in a few places because of the editing. Mark or anyone else have any comments on this film or any other classics they have recently seen?

I would think you should watch it again some time because I don't recall any editing problems (it got an Oscar for Best Editing), and I've seen it over ten times. I can guess at a couple of scenes, but I don't want to guess. You tell me what was difficult to understand, and I'll try to explain it or tell you why you might have missed it. I have it in my DVD collection, so if you say something which stumps me, I'll go check it out.

The thing that I find so impressive is that the film is a very-intensely-directed character study masquerading as a super-realistic action-adventure which all culminates in a powerful anti-war statement. I would say that if I had directed the ending, I would have made a few more character actions and motivations clearer, but the ambiguity is OK by me. Plus I'd never be foolish enough to imply that I could conceive and direct such a monumental production. Director David Lean's next film was the similarly-themed-and-nuanced "Lawrence of Arabia", which I don't think is any better.

"The Bridge on the River Kwai" has no special effects. They actually built a bridge. Then they sent a real train over the bridge and blew the sucker up. While they did this (they only had ONE chance), they had to film all the scenes with the actors in the foreground of the bridge. The tension in the finale is sweat-inducing.

I think it's an excellent film and well-deserving of its reputation and awards. I love Alec Guinness, and before "Star Wars", this was his biggest splash with American audiences. Of course, there are at least a dozen films he made before this which I enjoy, and half of those are in my DVD collection. The film itself is near-flawless. My gripe about it is in respect to the Academy Awards. This film won seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Actor, Director, Screenplay, etc., while Kirk Douglas/Stanley Kubrick's slightly-better "Paths of Glory" failed to receive any nominations at all. I certainly don't blame this movie, but check out "Paths of Glory"; it SHOULD blow you away.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mark f,

Thanks, as always, Mark. Maybe I should go back and watch it again sometime. I think I may have been falling asleep during a few parts (I was actually home sick in bed at the time). The editing part I was referring to was when the American was first escaping. I remember just seeing this guy running through the forest with a few other guys. The other guys get shot and the first guy jumps off a waterfall. The editing must have been my eyes opening and closing. Oops. But I was very impressed by the ending. I could tell that it was a real bridge, which I couldn't believe they built, and then actually blew up. But as far as Lawrence of Arabia is concerned, I absolutely loved that film and am still trying to find that canvas covered, 2-disc special edition dvd.

Speaking of great war classics, besides Paths of Glory and All Quiet on the Western Front, are there any other good WWI films worth seeing?

There are several WWI movies worth watching, and if you ask about specifics, I'll go into them, but for whatever reason, I would recommend these: "Wings" (incredible aerial photography and a young Gary Cooper); "Hell's Angels" (Jean Harlow, early color, and that incredible zeppelin); "Grand Illusion" [great, humanistic prison drama with Jean Gabin being held by the most pleasant German commandant (Eric von Stroheim) in history]; "King & Country" (the closest to "Paths of Glory" as far as anti-war statements); "The Blue Max" (big-budget, great cast, solid flying all in high-grade hokum); "The African Queen" (enough said); "Gallipoli" (artistic and heartbreaking); "The Lighthorsemen" ("Gallipoli" on steroids, but with less heart).

While on the topic of "Bridge on the River Kwai" the only weakness I ever saw in it were the scene leading up to the bridge destruction. Walking through the jungle. They kind of dragged out and were there to set up the situation I think. Plot device.

That's just nitpicking though. Really there isn't any big weakness at all, in fact it's probably almost a perfect movie. One of the all time greats. And to tie in with the topic of classics I think people may have trouble getting into it because older movies tend to focus more on story telling and character, rather than distinctive style and action sequences. As a result many of the classics tend to be slower with far more dialogue than most modern classics. That's what I gather anyway.

I just finished Stalag 17. I LOVED IT! Billy Wilder did an amazing job with the P.O.W.'s and the "Nazi's". Although somewhat unbelievable, it was refreshing to see a Nazi commander (Schultz) yukking it up with the Boys, although he gerenally had alterior motives. William Holden was great. I really need to see more of his films.

Any other opinions on this film? What did you think Mark?

Good choice, Jackie. Besides watching more Bill Holden films, you probably need to see more Billy Wilder ones. "Stalag 17" is an almost-great combination of prison drama, war flick, slapstick, suspense-mystery and satirical comedy. It was based on a play, but the claustrophobic setting works well in the film to pump up the suspense. I think Holden was better in "Sunset Blvd." (another Wilder classic), but he certainly deserved an Oscar for one of those.

I don't want to get too much into the details, but did you notice Peter Graves (Mission: Impossible" TV Show) in a key role? I DO enjoy Otto Preminger as the commandant and Sig Rumann as the sergeant (the model for Schultz on "Hogan's Heroes" later on TV). What did you think of the most extreme-comedic characters played by Robert Strauss and Harvey Lembeck? I thought they were pretty funny, but I think Wilder made the film slightly darker than the play, so sometimes they seemed a little overboard. Then again, if I was locked away in a POW camp, I'd want all the "light" entertainment I could get.

Overall, I'd recommend this to everyone. Try walking on the wild side; you might find that you like some old movies even better than the current brands!

The only aspect of the film that I felt I may have had a problem with was just what you mentioned Mark; the sometimes overboard humor from "Animal" and "Shapiro". The first thing I thought of was, could these guys really be soldiers on the battlefield, or did Wilder just want some comedic relief? This aspect did not hinder my enjoyment of the film at all, but that's just "critique" mode. I do agree with you though, that if I was in a prison camp like that for a few years, I would probably do ANYTHING to keep myself entertained, or even sane for that matter (although it seemed at times that Animal may have lost the majority of his already).

Up next, The Dirty Dozen

Well, I recently finished Dirty Dozen and The Guns Of Navarone. WOW! Fantastic films, both of them. They both have that great "men on a mission" theme and execute it superbly. Lee Marvin's crew in Dirty Dozen was cast perfectly, from Borgnine down through Bronson, Jim Brown, Telly Savalas and Donald Sutherland. This film, especially for its time, did an excellent job of portraying the dark side of Amercian Soldiers. One scene in particular, where the men are getting ready to "blow" the mansion near the end, struck me as very dark and rather daring for the time.

I can't say enough about The Guns of Navarone. This film blew me away from the first frame to the last. This was my first Gregory Peck film and the first of many to come. Peck played Captain Keith Mallory to perfection and the rest of his crew was top notch. I particularly enjoyed Anthony Quinn as Andrea Stavrov. This film was expertly executed and it is easy to see how it was one of the highest grossing films of all time at its release. I only wish I could have seen it on the big screen.

Peck is an outstanding actor, and is in some ways underrated.

Of course there is his supurb performance in "To kill a mocking bird", but I think another movie of his that rates just as highly is "The man in the grey flannell suit".

Talk about hard hitting for its time.

Does anyone consider the movie adaptation of "Our Town" to be a classic? It certainly is old, and a good story, just terrible acting.

I saw the original "The Nutty Professor" recently on HBO. It was pretty good and, in my opinion, much better than the adaption, although the remake was somewhat funnier.

If you have never seen it, or even if you have, you owe it to yourself to watch Otto Preminger's Laura(1944), one of the fastest, wittiest and most-memorable mysteries ever made. Gene Tierney plays the title role, a gorgeous, adorable young woman whose murder at the beginning sets off twists and turns that delve into the recesses of men's hearts. There's the police detective (Dana Andrews) who falls in love with the dead woman, the radio personality (Clifton Webb) who is extremely jealous of anyone else who spends time with her, and the penniless gigolo (Vincent Price) who's engaged to marry her. There's also one of the most beautiful themes of any film, composed by David Raksin. The thing though which really sets the film apart is the fast-paced, witty repartee which all the characters speak in. Watching an 88-minute masterpiece like Laura makes you see what today's movies are missing: original plots, witty dialogue, and no wasted scenes.

Billy Budd, based on a play and Herman Melville's novella Billy Budd, Foretopman is a wonderful 1962 film which clearly paints a story of good and evil, while also depicting the madness of war. The film, coadapted, produced and directed by Peter Ustinov (who also plays the Captain), tells the story of sincere teenage sailor Billy Budd (Terence Stamp in his first film) who's conscripted into the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. The crew, from top to bottom, all immediately take a strong liking to Master Budd. All, except the Master-of-Arms (Robert Ryan), who carries some deep emotional scars which cause him to want to destroy anything he sees as too pure and good. What ensues is rousing, tragic and ironic. The cast, story and production are all great, and the entire film takes place aboard ship. I don't want to give any more away. I like Master and Commander, but I prefer Billy Budd as powerful, masterful storytelling set at sea during the Napoleonic Era.

Room at the Top is a superb English drama with witty dialogue and striking performances. It paints life in England in 1959 where the class system is strictly enforced with the "haves" trying to keep the "have-nots" away from everything that they have. Laurence Harvey plays a lower-class white-collar worker who sets his sights on the boss's daughter (Heather Sears), but he falls in love with the sexy, older Frenchwoman (Simone Signoret, Oscar Best Actress) who's stuck in a loveless marriage with a colossal prig (that's the polite word.)

The film was directed by Jack Clayton, who was a visual stylist who understood the intricacies and depth of seemingly-offhand honest human behavior. It still holds up as one of the smartest dramas ever made. Plus I love Clayton's next film, the fantastic thriller The Innocents (1961), which still blows away practically every gory horror film made ever since.

Well...I'm slowly making my way through the AFI films that I have yet to see. I just finished All About Eve and was completely blown away by Joseph Mankiewicz's script and direction. It was something I wasn't expecting from a film of this time. Not that excellent films didn't come out of this era, but All About Eve was so in depth and written with such perfection that many others from this time seem to fade in the background.

What other Mankiewicz films would you recommend Mark?

The year before, Mankiewicz wrote and directed A Letter to Three Wives, where one unseen woman writes a letter and tells her three best friends that she's run off with one of their husbands. The women are Ann Sothern, Linda Darnell and Jeanne Crain. The husbands are Kirk Douglas, Paul Douglas and Jeffrey Lynn. The script is just as witty as All About Eve, and everything is portrayed very realistically as far as all the relationships.

The year after Eve, Mankiewicz wrote and directed his most personal film, People Will Talk, about a doctor/medical school professor (Cary Grant) who treats people as human beings, but he has to put up with a witch hunt instigated by his rival (Hume Cronyn). It's got a pretty daring subject of unwed motherhood and attempted suicide, but it's a very funny, very warm film which not only covers those topics, but includes plentiful amounts of romance and mystery. It's also got one of the greatest last ten minutes ever.

I highly recommend all three films to everybody, as well as others, but start with those TRUE classics. They're all on DVD.

I last saw Smiles Of A Summer Night,
it was my first Bergman, so I didn't know what to expect but I ended up loving it.
***1/9/****

The Professionals (Brooks, 1966, Grade: A-)

This is a rock-'em, sock-'em action western which they just don't make anymore. Both Brooks' direction and adapted screenplay are models of action filmmaking, traditional storytelling, and gotcha plot twists. Also, Connie Hall's cinematography, Maurice Jarre's musical score, Peter Zinner's editing, the incredible explosions, and the awesome locations all add up to a must-see film. The frosting(s?) on the cake are the terrific performances of Lee Marvin, Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, Woody Strode, Claudia Cardinale, Jack Palance, Ralph Bellamy, and all the others. This is one of my faves.

Last Holiday (Henry Cass, 1950, Grade: B+)

One of my favorite Alec Guinness comedies is also one of the first I ever saw and immediately fell in love with. The story of a salesman given at most months to live by a doctor is wonderfully detailed in J.B. Priestley's focused script and abetted by Cass' nimble direction. Guinness takes the doc's advice, quits his job and takes what cash he has to go out with a bang at a posh hotel. The other guests find him to be a "mystery man", but eventually he becomes everybody's favorite and has a run of good luck, both things he missed during the rest of his life. The film captures human nature to a tee, plus all the refernces to the unfair situation are placed in all the expected and unexpected locations. A quiet gem with an awesome Guinness performance and great supporting cast.