Old movies you've only seen recently...

[ketan]

I've never seen Possession and my local is showing it in the coming weeks, so that'll be my Hallowe'en contribution to this thraed!

Also, in general, I'm not a big fan of comedy-hybrid films, similarly how I feel about purposely campy horror movies.So you're not a fan of all the Sam Raimi stuff?

 

[Electrode]

"Evil Dead", the only one of his I have seen, is among few of the exceptions: "Dead Alive", "They Live", etc. But I prefer horror in the same way I like my black coffee: dark, powerful, no sweetener.

I had a chance to see Possession here at one of the repertoire theaters years ago and regret missing the opportunity. Enjoy.

 

[ketan]

Evil Deads/Army of Darkness and the much more recent Drag Me To Hell are all super fun for me. But totally a different lane than the straight up horror flicks.

 

[dizzybull]

I never could get with the evil dead franchise, but some horror comedies are great. I think mostly i like ones that poke fun at horror tropes, like Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil, Shaun of the Dead, Behind The Mask, etc. Doesn't always work though. I didn't care for Cabin in the Woods or Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 either.

I was listening to a podcast where Eli Roth was talking about this movie called Peices that sounds pretty incredible.

 

[ketan]

It's all about Bruce Campbell for me - I find him hilarious.

 

[dizzybull]

ketan said:

It's all about Bruce Campbell for me - I find him hilarious.




I remember liking Bubba Ho Tep, and as a person he seems funny and cool but i can't get into his movies for some reason. Even the Ash Vs. Evil Dead show on Netflix I don't' think I made it past the first episode. Speaking of which - there was a show called Scream Queens in 2015 that is now on Hulu and it has Jamie Lee Curtis and the first episode of that had me DYING laughing. The rest of the season is OK, but that first episode is so crude and funny I highly recommend it.Also I never noticed until it was pointed out to me, but the Texas Chainsaw Massacre Pt 2 poster is a copy of the Breakfast Club poster. Google it. pretty funny.

 

[Frank]

I first saw this around the time it came out and really loved it. Never understood the bad, initial reception and I think it has aged extremely well. I'd really love to see this on the big screen.
Just stole the 3 hour long Criterion edition of this one. Back in 1986 this movie caused one of my most severe screen crushes

 

[dizzybull]

I watched Pieces yesterday. It was campy, trashy, and dumb, but funny. It was filmed in Europe where the director was also filming Bruce Lee knock offs with a guy called Bruce Le. So Bruce Le suddenly appears, does some Kung Fu, and then says something about bad chow mein and then is never seen again. Also a chick skateboards into a giant mirror for no reason and a boy kills his mom with an ax after she catches him with a nude lady puzzle. The women are usually topless when they get killed, because that is just how they roll. The director was like "It's been ten minutes since we've seen any titties, and I got bills to pay".

 

[Electrode]

I just saw "Betty Blue" yesterday. That was a hell of a film. Reminds me of when I tried to help out a girlfriend find a job before she in a moment of anger trashed my aunt's dress shop. That was the end of the relationship. Anyhow, I was reading Beatrice Dalle's Wikipedia bio. Man, that woman knows how to party.

"Race With The Devil" was awesome. The thin plot involving Satanic cult members is just an excuse for cool chases and stunts.

"Pieces": I remember that one. The scene where the poor woman was sawn in the ribs (pig's corpse) was brutal. The ending freeze frame was funny though. The director, who worked with Sergio Leone but evidently did not get much from the experience, is best known for his "Superman" and "E.T." rip-offs which were made fun of by the Mystery Science Theater 3000 crew.

I'm watching "World On A Wire" now.

 

[vintageinfants]

https://youtu.be/iHck4aO33IE

 

[klezmer electro-thug beats]

Man... I haven't seen that one, but it reminded me that Elliot Gould was a man of infinite steez. A leading man of a type that will never be allowed in Hollywood again. I want more California Split, Long Goodbye type shit getting made.

 

[Electrode]

"Silent Partner" is one of my favorite 70s films.

I watched "Young Frankenstein" for the first time. "Putting On The Ritz"!

https://youtu.be/ab7NyKw0VYQ

"Safety Last!"

https://youtu.be/VFBYJNAapyk

"Vidas Secas"

https://youtu.be/6pSn37ZJqBQ

 

[dizzybull]

Young ‘trode how is it you are only now seeing young Frankenstein?!

when I was in high school I was flipping through channels and this was on and I thought “oh cool a Frankenstein movie” not realizing it was a parody. It was right before the putting on the ritz scene. So he brings the monster out and let me tell you…. When they started doing putting on the ritz I was so baffled. Pre internet days. I eventually realized I was watching a comedy spoof. To this day I love this movie.

 

[Electrode]

I know, right? Dad introduced me to "Blazing Saddles" and "History Of The World, Part 1", but not YF, shortly after "Robin Hood: Men In Tights" was released. I've never seen it on cable since and did not give it a second thought until Mel Brooks films were mentioned by a guy sitting next to me at Thanksgiving.

"How many times have I told you not to interrupt me when I'm WORKING?!?"
"'Footsteps'! 'Footsteps'!"
"There!!! Now I've touched it! Happy?!?"

 

[ppadilha]

Vidas Secas is pretty good, the book is amazing but probably untranslatable. Nelson Pereira dos Santos made some dope films, check out How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman if you can find it!
re: Mel Brooks, YF is great, but I don't recommend watching Spaceballs. It was one of my favorite films when I was a kid, but watching it again when I was in my 20s made reconsider a lot of things from my youth...

 

[Electrode]

"Vidas Secas" is featured in "Cinema For Portuguese Conversation", a textbook for those such as myself who are learning the language. It's odd why some Brazilian movies are difficult to find affordably: for example, "Dona Flor And Her Two Husbands", which is also one of the "lessons" in that book. How is it that one of the country's highest grossing films which stars a well known actress in her breakout role isn't available in the US? Import DVDs command ~$100. Considering the amount of obscure films from around the globe which get the Criterion 4K Blu-Ray treatment or whatever, I don't understand it. "How Tasty" is on YouTube, although without subs. I'll check it out.

"Spaceballs": the only moments I remember from it is Rick Moranis' dickhead Vader helmet, "Pizza The Hut" and "may the Schwartz be with you!". I just learned that my brother is a "Star Wars" saga fanatic (I never knew!) so when I have the chance I'll ask about his take on it

Speaking of Frenchmen, I saw Robert Bresson's final film "L'Argent". Always inspect money you are given. I cannot stress this enough.

"The Soldier": this implausible, James Bond-esque Cold War era action yarn from the director who brought you "The Exterminator" is very entertaining.

https://youtu.be/N4d2c6i4dzc

 

[klezmer electro-thug beats]

I watched The Nun (1966) with Anna Karina and The Nun (2013) with Pauline Etienne. Basically, a young woman trying to escape a forced enrollment in a convent for life, being shuffled around between different locations and mothers superiors.

I liked both, and they had distinct approaches to the same story. The 60s one felt more about how the bureaucracy of the church deals with its bad actors, whereas the newer version focused more on the individual personalities of the various mothers who kept her in - from abuse to infatuation. It didn't get old at all watching the two versions despite knowing the plot after the first, so they must've felt distinct enough. I feel like Pauline Etienne is better in the role than Anna Karina was, and Karina is a legend. Etienne was that good.

Skrong recommend if you can imagine watching 17th century nun shit for two hours (or four if you do the double feature). Not that they're slow movies, just... cloistered, for lack of a better word.

 

[Jimster]

Electrode said:


The Ipcress File (Sidney J. Furie, 65)
Funeral in Berlin (Guy Hamilton, 66)


Harry Palmer binge : Ipcress > Funeral, right?Then "The Billion Dollar Brain" > both

Brain is batshit but everything else is perfect about it.
I did try the actual Harry Palmer glasses myself - they are a Curry & Paxton frame called "Yvan" - ...

..but they didn't look right on me. I do love the C&P hinge pins though, so ended up with the "Hughes".

 

[Electrode]

I just saw "Over The Edge" for the first time. It's a late 70s take on 50s juvenile delinquent flicks. It has one of my favorite cinematic tropes: a car gets shot or crashes and it explodes! Same deal as "Streets Of Fire", which was fun too.

"Stalker": I had this in my Netflix queue for several years and it coincidentally showed up before the Russian shit hit the fan. Tarkovsky was a visionary.

"Cat People": I've seen the original and the soundtrack in the bins, but never the Paul Schrader version. Supposedly, he and his crew were high as a kite throughout.

"Jeanne Dielman": I have seen three hour plus epics and my attention span is strong, but this was torture.

 

[klezmer electro-thug beats]

Jeanne Dielman I couldn't hang with and I have certainly had the patience for some extremely deliberate movies. It's one of those movies where the rave reviews all treat it like medicine, not entertainment or fun, so you have to accept that as what it is. The slowness is necessary to what Akerman was achieving, but it also feels like achieving something unpleasant in the viewer (boredom? desperation?) isn't a great way to make your artistic statement. I dunno though, some people claim they can stay fascinated for the whole duration.

In contrast Stalker is visually so incredible that the Russian pace does not bother me.

Haven't had much time though I've got a lot in my queue. Hopefully an upcoming holiday will give me a chance to catch up.

But I did see "Love Meetings" - I don't know Pasolini's movies at all really, and this one didn't seem like strong meat like some of his stuff. He just goes around Italy in 1964 asking people in the street about their sexual mores and world views. It has funny moments but also makes some big points in an easy way - what being a conformist says about someone, for example: "the stubborn certainty of those who are insecure". Lots of scenes of men crowding the camera, no women to be seen. Divorce might be legal in Italy now but a lot of the accepted views that seem ancient in the movie have just translated to similarly nonsensical societal mores today.