'Our Mrs. Reynolds'
A place to talk about movies--old and new, good and bad, high art and high cheese. It's the place to place your kittens on the award winners, gossip about upcoming fims and discuss DVD releases and extras. Spoiler policy: White font all plot-related discussion until a movie's been in wide release two weeks, and keep the major HSQ in white font until two weeks after the video/DVD release.
Touch of Evil is one of my top ten movies. I've seen it in theaters at least six times, and, of course, own a copy. It puts a baroque, somewhat grotesque capstone on the noir era and was a huge influence on Psycho too. It's also a pretty direct result of Welles copping stuff from the French New Wave. Plus Mancini's first big movie score - a masterpiece of crime jazz.
"You ought to lay off those chocolate bars, honey."
"He was...some kind of man. What does it matter what you say about people any way?"
There's a big part of me that wants to live in the world of ToE, full of darkness and danger and snark and mysterious voices hissing warnings to you through the wall of a cheap motel. The weird desk clerk! Marlene Dietrich's crowded rickety cheap-tart boho house! Orson Welles, the most broken and sorrowful villain in the history of melodrama! Heston and Leigh wandering through the late night bordertown sleaze, fingers entwined, eating ice cream! Open roads! Dusty shops! The river by night, black like an oil slick!
And no, Heston is in no possible way Mexican, but he had giant love and respect for Welles at a time when the Powers That Be of Hollywood had little use for him, and he was dogged and insistent in his love and respect and he bullied everyone into making it happen. I've read snippets of his autobiography, and even years later being part of that project, helping to get it made and having the great privilege of being directed by Welles were the part of his career he was most proud of and delighted and humbled by. I still think he was a scary-ass gun nut, but I've kind of loved him ever since I read that.
The weird desk clerk!
Dennis Weaver!
I did see Ed Wood which is funny because according to imdb it was Welles who made the main character Mexican and his wife American- in the script it was the other way around. It seemed like Heston's makeup got a little less severe as the movie progressed but then he spoke spanish. ugh.
The opening tracking shot was a thing of beauty.
Also according to imdb...
Was screened at the 1958 Brussels World's Fair, where judges (and then critics) Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut awarded it the top-prize. It was said the film was a great influence on starting Godard's and Truffaut's illustrious careers, both of whom within a year went on to make their first films À bout de souffle (1960) and Les quatre cents coups (1959), respectively.
Also in my top ten. That movie rewards repeat viewings.
At first I though Mexican!Heston was Errol Flynn wearing too much makeup.
I just saw "Up in the Air." I enjoyed the film, but I'm a bit puzzled why critics raved about this movie. I thought the movie was okay, but not anything to write home about.
I was shocked at Vera Farmiga though. What has she done to her face? Yikes.
Back from Holmes. Was entertained. Very much.
I enjoyed the film, but I'm a bit puzzled why critics raved about this movie. I thought the movie was okay, but not anything to write home about.
Well if you really hate romantic comedies where a lifetime of bad behavior is redeemed by falling for the the right person, this is sort of the perfect antidote. If the typical redemption romance were a person, this would be the film that leaves that person lying on the floor like a jigsaw puzzle with a bunch of pieces missing.