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Post by LeBeauSerge on Apr 6, 2024 17:39:00 GMT
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Post by wmcclain on Apr 6, 2024 18:29:02 GMT
The Spiral Staircase (1946), directed by Robert Siodmak. A serial killer is preying upon disabled women. During a long dark and stormy night in the big old house we become concerned for mute Dorothy McGuire, still suffering from childhood trauma. Strangely enough, everyone worries about her: don't trust anyone, they say. And get out of that house. The setup reminds me of a memorable episode of the The Alfred Hitchcock Hour: " An Unlocked Window" with Dana Wynter. In fact, Ethel Lina White, the writer of this film is also credited for the TV episode, for the same story or another, I do not know. The first and last acts are good. The middle section goes slack; we're probably supposed to examine each character and suspect everyone in turn of being the psycho-killer. Nicholas Musuraca has his dramatic lighting and shadows and makes inventive use of a moving camera, putting us into the scene. With Rhonda Fleming, age 23, Elsa Lanchester, and Ethel Barrymore, last seen in The Paradine Case (1947). Kent Smith made a living dealing with psychological trauma: see Cat People (1942) and The Curse of the Cat People (1944). Nicholas Musuraca photography and Roy Webb score: that formidable RKO combination. A theremin means insanity. Available on DVD.
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Post by Doghouse6 on Apr 6, 2024 18:39:23 GMT
When I opened the thread, I had the same thought as you and Teleadm , but scrolled down and discovered I was waaaay too late. As an old mystery frame poster yourself, safe to say you're enjoying it from the other side? Yes, I am but I often have, like this week, a particular picture I want to use but just can't find it. I just love film noir staircases and wanted to find the spiral one. For the Better Late Than Never file: This one has no discernable faces either, but might have been something of a giveaway: I have my best luck searching on Bing Images for "screencaps" or "framecaps" along with a film title. The wall switch to the light in our staircase at home needs replacing, so for the time being, I've placed a small floor spot near the bottom pointing upward to prevent broken necks in the dark of night. It throws such wonderful film noir-type balustrade shadows onto the wall that I've been in no hurry to get the switch fixed.
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Post by Doghouse6 on Apr 6, 2024 18:42:58 GMT
When I opened the thread, I had the same thought as you and Teleadm , but scrolled down and discovered I was waaaay too late. As an old mystery frame poster yourself, safe to say you're enjoying it from the other side? What hesitated me a bit was that the fence seems to be of different hights dependings on the angles it was shot. Ah, but you know as well as anyone, Teleadm, that everything you see in movies is illusion.
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Post by politicidal1 on Apr 6, 2024 22:56:53 GMT
First Viewings:
Rollerball (2002) 2/10
Days of Thunder (1990) 5/10
Rollerball (1975) 6.5/10
Quicksand (1950) 7/10
The Chase (1966) 4/10
Night and the City (1950) 5.5/10
Repeat Viewings
Garden of Evil (1954) 7.5/10
The Wild One (1953) 6/10
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Post by claudius on Apr 7, 2024 10:32:01 GMT
I remember Easter April 3 1994. I saw JESUS OF NAZARETH for the first time during Holy Week on the Family Channel, THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JESUS on Good Friday on the Learning Channel. For Easter I got the BEN-HUR 35TH ANNIVERSARY GIFT SET VHS which included the docu BEN-HUR THE MAKING OF AN EPIC that I’ve seen every Christmas since then.
QUIET ON SET THE DARK SIDE OF KIDS TV (2024) Amazon Prime
30TH ANNIVERSARY SAILOR MOON S (1994) “A Handsome Boy? Haruka Tenoh’s Secret.” Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune (and their alter egos, Haruka Tenoh & Michiru Kaiou) make their first full appearances. Japanese with English Subtitles. Amazon Prime
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JESUS (1994) “Who was Jesus?” & “The Last Days of Jesus” Parts 2 & 3 of a Three part documentary series by US NEWS & WORLD REPORT magazine examining the meaning and accuracy of the four Gospels. Narrated by Armand Assante with Gospel quotes by Betty Buckley, the series is composed of location footage of the Holy Land, Paintings & sculptures, footage from THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST (1987 using scenes that obscure Willem DaFoe’s face), and interviews by Paula Fredriksen, D A Carson, Robert Funk, Robert David, etc. I first saw this series on Good Friday / April Fools Day 1994 on the Learning Channel. The first installment “The First Christmas” I would eventually record in 1996, and since 1998 would be part of my Christmas viewings for 25 years. ABC Video VHS
ABRAHAM (1993) US PREMIERE ANNIVERSARY Italian-British TV miniseries of Genesis (the first in a series) starring Richard Harris and Barbara Hershey. This made its American premiere on TNT in Easter Sunday 1994. I remember the less than favorable reviews by USA TODAY and ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, which praised THE TEN COMMANDMENTS in comparison. YouTube
40TH ANNIVERSARY THE JEWEL IN THE CROWN (1984) “The Division of the Spoils” The Granada TV Serial of THE RAJ QUARTET makes its finish. Amazon Prime
50TH ANNIVERSARY NAPOLEON AND LOVE (1974) “Eleanore” Interestingly, Eleanore- Napoleon’s first baby mommy- only appears in the last third, the former rest is made up of Madame Duchatel played by Stephanie Beacham. DVD
THE WORLD AT WAR (1974) “Nemesis Germany” The end of the Third Reich. YouTube
FALL OF EAGLES (1974) “Requiem for a Prince” This episode returns to the Hapsburgs of Austria, but now in 1889 with Laurence Naismith as Franz Joseph & Rachel Gurney as Sissi. The focus however is the aftermath of the Mayerling Scandal, when Crown Prince Rudolf killed himself and his mistress. The Episode takes a cynical pragmatic look on the story. YouTube
THE PALLISERS (1974) “Part Twelve” The Serial concludes PHINEAS FINN and moves to THE EUSTACE DIAMONDS with Sarah Badel, Marvin Jarvis, and Derek Jacobi. YouTube
70TH ANNIVERSARY PRINCE VALIANT (1954) 20th Century Fox CinemaScope adaptation of the Hal Foster comic strip, starring Robert Wagner, James Mason, Victor MacLaglen, Sterling Hayden, Janet Leigh, and Brian Adherne. First saw a clip from American Movie Classics REFLECTIONS OF THE SILVER SCREEN “Robert Wagner” (he refers to looking like a Beatle). I saw the film on Cinemax in 1993. I remember the swords were pretty big. FoxVideo DVD
100TH ANNIVERSARY GIRL SHY (1924) Harold Lloyd comedy about a writer who fantasizes about knowing women but is nervous & stuttering to the real thing. When he does fall for the real thing, he has to stop her wedding to a bigamist, resulting in one spectacular chase involving car, trolley, motorcycle, cart, horse, etc. Like the rest of his films, my first experience was through Richard Shickel’s book HAROLD LLOYD THE SHAPE OF LAUGHTER, using stills of the chase. I finally saw the film in its Photoplay version scored by Jim Parker on Cinemax in the spring of 1994. YouTube presentation of the Photoplay version.
AT FIRST SIGHT (1924) Premièred in January 1924, this is Charley Chase’s first starring Jimmy Jump Comedy Short. YouTube
ONE OF THE FAMILY (1924) Charley Chase’s second film short, premiered on January 1924. YouTube
POWDER & SMOKE (1924) Chase’s fourth film short premiered on February 1924. YouTube
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Post by Captain Spencer on Apr 7, 2024 14:42:25 GMT
Spellbound (1945)Dr. Edwardes (Gregory Peck) is a newly arrived psychoanalyst at a Vermont mental hospital. He may be an imposter suffering from amnesia and he may have killed the real Dr. Edwardes. This is my first time watching this Alfred Hitchcock thriller. I did find it slow at times, and the schmaltz was laid on thick (that might have been the interference of producer David O. Selznick). But for the most part it is an absorbing thriller with some shocking revelations. That dream sequence was quite surreal and possibly the most bizarre scene Hitchcock ever filmed. There were a couple of outstanding point-of-view camera shots, as you would expect from Hitch; there's the one of someone drinking a glass of milk, and the other roving gunpointing. No doubt that Spellbound had an influence on such movies as Brian De Palma's Sisters and Wolfgang Petersen's Shattered. 7/10
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Post by mikef6 on Apr 7, 2024 15:13:06 GMT
Spellbound (1945)Dr. Edwardes (Gregory Peck) is a newly arrived psychoanalyst at a Vermont mental hospital. He may be an imposter suffering from amnesia and he may have killed the real Dr. Edwardes. This is my first time watching this Alfred Hitchcock thriller. I did find it slow at times, and the schmaltz was laid on thick (that might have been the interference of producer David O. Selznick). But for the most part it is an absorbing thriller with some shocking revelations. That dream sequence was quite surreal and possibly the most bizarre scene Hitchcock ever filmed. There were a couple of outstanding point-of-view camera shots, as you would expect from Hitch; there's the one of someone drinking a glass of milk, and the other roving gunpointing. No doubt that Spellbound had an influence on such movies as Brian De Palma's Sisters and Wolfgang Petersen's Shattered. Selznick was into psychoanalysis himself and was looking for a suitable subject to film. Hitchcock, fearing he would be saddled with something he disliked, found a novel he could form into whatever he wanted. The dream sequence was cut back quite a bit but is still stunning. I have read that in the “roving gun” POV, when the gun is fired there is an instance where the black & white screen flashes briefly red but I have never seen a print where that happens.
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Post by Captain Spencer on Apr 7, 2024 15:20:48 GMT
Spellbound (1945)Dr. Edwardes (Gregory Peck) is a newly arrived psychoanalyst at a Vermont mental hospital. He may be an imposter suffering from amnesia and he may have killed the real Dr. Edwardes. This is my first time watching this Alfred Hitchcock thriller. I did find it slow at times, and the schmaltz was laid on thick (that might have been the interference of producer David O. Selznick). But for the most part it is an absorbing thriller with some shocking revelations. That dream sequence was quite surreal and possibly the most bizarre scene Hitchcock ever filmed. There were a couple of outstanding point-of-view camera shots, as you would expect from Hitch; there's the one of someone drinking a glass of milk, and the other roving gunpointing. No doubt that Spellbound had an influence on such movies as Brian De Palma's Sisters and Wolfgang Petersen's Shattered. Selznick was into psychoanalysis himself and was looking for a suitable subject to film. Hitchcock, fearing he would be saddled with something he disliked, found a novel he could form into whatever he wanted. The dream sequence was cut back quite a bit but is still stunning. I have read that in the “roving gun” POV, when the gun is fired there is an instance where the black & white screen flashes briefly red but I have never seen a print where that happens.I don't remember the brief flash of red, unless it was so brief it was hardly noticeable. The version I saw was from TCM.
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Post by Doghouse6 on Apr 7, 2024 19:15:58 GMT
Selznick was into psychoanalysis himself and was looking for a suitable subject to film. Hitchcock, fearing he would be saddled with something he disliked, found a novel he could form into whatever he wanted. The dream sequence was cut back quite a bit but is still stunning. I have read that in the “roving gun” POV, when the gun is fired there is an instance where the black & white screen flashes briefly red but I have never seen a print where that happens.The times I've observed it, the screen doesn't flash red; it's more like a red animation that's overlaid for a couple frames onto the b&w footage in sort of a starburst pattern, rather like the shape illustrated below: I suppose it's startling when one isn't expecting it but, when you know it's there and catch it, it seems a bit cheesy in its execution. You haven't missed much.
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Apr 7, 2024 21:18:26 GMT
Sorry for the delay. Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004). Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991). Fallen (1998). A Good Woman Is Hard to Find (2019).
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Post by Rufus-T on Apr 9, 2024 5:46:11 GMT
Stalker (1979) Did not enjoy this the first time I saw this as it surpassed the limit of slowness. A guide brought two intellects into a strange forbidden zone. For 3 hours, there were many meandering and philosophizing. I did enjoy it more this time when I find the slowness meditative and mysterious, but then I lost patient in the 2nd half. It is divided into 2 parts. I should have stopped when part 1 ended and let the ideas sink in before resume on the 2nd half. It is a dense movie for sure with much food for thought, but don't expect much to be entertained by it. The Cranes Are Flying (1957) A simple story of lovers torned by war. What I admired most about this movie is the direction and the camera work. Some takes were long and breathtaking. It is one of the most beautiful movie in black and white. It truly brought the story out to an emotional level that may bring out tears after finishing it. Highly recommended. Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) This was 2nd viewing of this movie when Madonna at her height. I did not expected it to be good so I skipped it at the time. I finally picked it up in the mid 2000s, and was I pleasantly surprised. Madonna was not quite the lead even though she played the title role of Susan. The lead was played by Rosanna Arquette who played a bored housewife, Roberta, tracking Susan's life through the ad pages in the communication between Susan and her boyfriend. Roberta wanted to be Susan, and in a a strange way, she did. The information in the beginning of the movie did throw at the audience a bit too fast. Nothing too artsy. Nevertheless, a very charming little romantic comedy having a good cast, with nostalgic coziness to the mid 80s.
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