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Author Topic: A Filmspotter's Marathon of Filmspotting Marathons  (Read 75831 times)

Teproc

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Re: A Filmspotter's Marathon of Filmspotting Marathons
« Reply #200 on: July 09, 2016, 03:22:42 AM »
The Lady Eve (Preston Sturges, 1941)



Adam & Sam's take

Yet again, I'm conflicted (and yet again I'm on Adam's side). The first forty minutes or so are amazing. Stanwyck is radiating wit, charisma, and sensuality : the seduction scene feels like the closest you'd get to porn in the 1940's, the sexuality on display in that scene (and a lot of the film) is making a mockery of the Code, which is always a plus in my book. Stanwyck is so good that I even buy that she's in love with the rich oaf that is Henry Fonda, and the humour is once again more clever than silly : Stanwyck commenting on the ballet caused by Fonda is priceless, especially when she then very easily gets the prize for herself. I guess I just like people being competent and clever, which... pretty much stops here.

Once they step off the boat, the film seems to devolve into everything that annoys me about these screwball comedies : people being dumb for the sake of it, the happy ending being rushed through in five seconds regardless of character, the assumption that a movie star falling down repeatedly is so funny it doesn't need anything else to merit a laugh... it's not that it's terrible, but it's so disappointing after the way the film started. There are some good moments still : the scene with the horse intruding on Fonda's declaration of love for "Eve" is perfect, with Fonda playing the scene completely straight and Sturges literally poking fun at his self-seriousness... that sense of distance with the genre's convention is sorely missing as the film progresses to its inevitable happy ending. Fonda's justification for not recognizing Eve is actually pretty great, but it is still hard to know what to think of his character : he's such an idiot and the film keeps poking fun at him so much (the constant falling down doesn't help) that it's hard to buy Stanwyck coming back to him, especially after the first rejection.

7/10
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1SO

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Re: A Filmspotter's Marathon of Filmspotting Marathons
« Reply #201 on: July 09, 2016, 08:45:21 AM »
The Lady Eve (Preston Sturges, 1941)
I'm not disagreeing, but for me the boat section is Perfect and the rest is still funny and entertaining. Another reason for this you don't mention is Charles Coburn, who plays Stanwyck's 'daddy' and is the slyest of foxes. I love the way he tries to fake being bad at cards but also can't help showing off, and when he tries to outwit Stanwyck's deal. That drop is why Ball of Fire is my favorite screwball comedy, but Lady Eve isn't too far behind.

I also don't like Bringing Up Baby, the most overrated Screwball.

I initially loved The Awful Truth, mainly for the cast. The more I watched it and watched other Screwball, it became a more tepid example. (Great review on that one.)

Teproc

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Re: A Filmspotter's Marathon of Filmspotting Marathons
« Reply #202 on: July 09, 2016, 10:42:59 AM »
The Lady Eve (Preston Sturges, 1941)
I'm not disagreeing, but for me the boat section is Perfect and the rest is still funny and entertaining. Another reason for this you don't mention is Charles Coburn, who plays Stanwyck's 'daddy' and is the slyest of foxes. I love the way he tries to fake being bad at cards but also can't help showing off, and when he tries to outwit Stanwyck's deal. That drop is why Ball of Fire is my favorite screwball comedy, but Lady Eve isn't too far behind.

You're right, I should have mentioned him, the card-playing scenes are pretty delightful and he and Stanwyck work very well together, you get the feeling there could be a film about their adventures before that point.
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Teproc

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Re: A Filmspotter's Marathon of Filmspotting Marathons
« Reply #203 on: July 11, 2016, 04:56:17 AM »
Adam's Rib (George Cukor, 1949)



Adam & Sam's take (starts at 37:26)

I think I like screwball the best when it's tacked on another genre, in this case a courtroom... drama ? Or maybe it's because the romantic part of it is about a married couple, and what a couple... Hepburn and Tracy being a couple offscreen obviously helps, there's never any doubt that they are made for each other. They're both witty, manipulative and frankly dishonest : lawyers, in a word.

The "battle of the sexes" premise had me worried that the film would lean too far one way or the other, but it mostly avoids that : Hepburn is fighting the good fight, but the particular case she chooses and the way she humiliates Tracy and acts as if she couldn't possibly understand what she's done wrong... and then Tracy does his own bit of overreacting himself with the final "showdown". They're both willing to go very far to prove they're right, and the way they argue feels very natural : Hepburn chasing Tracy, wanting to talk more while he's had enough, and she keeps chasing him from room to room... their relationship is simply fascinating and one that's easy to root for, with its simple moments of harmony early on. The bit with Tracy showing that he can cry at will too at the end is a perfect embodiement of their relationship : it's kind of petty and insulting in a way, but exactly right for them.

Their relationship is the film, really. It's them arguing at home, arguing at court, with various levels of tenderness and/or animosity. I love the way Cukor shows how each part of their lives intersect with the others : be it for comedy's sake (Tracy calling Hepburn "Pinkie" in court), drama (the hat), or simply to show their complicity (early on at least) when they communicate in court under the table.

I could do without the singer, obviously in love with Hepburn though she doesn't realize it. It's necessary to the ending, as is her obliviousness to how it looks, but it's the one thing in the film that doesn't ring true.

8/10
« Last Edit: July 11, 2016, 04:59:09 AM by Teproc »
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Teproc

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Re: A Filmspotter's Marathon of Filmspotting Marathons
« Reply #204 on: July 11, 2016, 10:16:36 AM »
The Astas (Screwball Comedies Awards)

In the same order as the podcast (starts at 50:08)

Best Supporting Actor: Charles Coburn (The Lady Eve)



Best Supporting Actress : Myrna Loy (The Thin Man)



Best Actress : Barbara Stanwyck (The Lady Eve)



Best Actor : William Powell (My Man Godfrey)



Best Duo : Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy (Adam's Rib)



Best Comedic Moment : The horse intruding (The Lady Eve)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GLvvQFHST8

Best Director : George Cukor (Adam's Rib)



Best Picture : Adam's Rib



Summary/ranking :

Adam's Rib (George Cukor, 1949)
The Thin Man (W.S. Van Dyke, 1934)

Sullivan's Travels (Preston Sturges, 1941)
The Lady Eve (Preston Sturges, 1941)
My Man Godfrey (Gregory La Cava, 1936)
The Awful Truth (Leo McCarey, 1937)

Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, 1949)


Weirdly enough I had trouble coming up with a comedic moment. There's the party scene in The Thin Man, but that's pretty long, and then the other standout scenes weren't necessarily that funny : the church scene in Sullivan's Travels, the last scene in The Awful Truth with Grant and Dunn in neighborhood rooms, which is funny but more notable for how much it sells the happy ending... in the end, you can't go wrong with horses, I suppose.

Also would have given a Writing award for Sullivan's Travels had there been that category... as it was it kept coming close but not quite there (Veronica Lake and Sturges specifically).

Anyway, on to Documentaries !
« Last Edit: July 11, 2016, 05:28:49 PM by Teproc »
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oldkid

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Re: A Filmspotter's Marathon of Filmspotting Marathons
« Reply #205 on: July 11, 2016, 10:28:46 AM »
I really need to watch Adam's Rib.
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Sandy

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Re: A Filmspotter's Marathon of Filmspotting Marathons
« Reply #206 on: July 11, 2016, 01:27:48 PM »


I'm a good card shuffler, but I wish I could do that! :)

Great pics and gif all through your post, Teproc! I've been having fun following along this category. It's not my favorite genre, but there are moments of greatness to be found. And, I too really want to get to Adam's Rib.

1SO

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Re: A Filmspotter's Marathon of Filmspotting Marathons
« Reply #207 on: July 11, 2016, 02:30:40 PM »
Charles Coburn is a gem.
Never thought of Myrna Loy as Supporting, but she would lose to Stanwyck so that's a good way to honor both.
When considering the horse intruding, did you consider Stanwyck watching through her mirror, mocking everyone?

Very choice gif. Love that you went with that.

Teproc

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Re: A Filmspotter's Marathon of Filmspotting Marathons
« Reply #208 on: July 11, 2016, 04:31:33 PM »
Myrna Loy is debatable, but she doesn't have that much screentime actually... also that category is not exactly stacked : I was considering Veronica Lake who is similarly borderline, otherwise I'd have gone with Gail Patrick in My Man Godfrey if going with a stricter definition of "supporting".

The mirror scene is great, and I had it on my mind since I chose it for her screenshot, not sure why I didn't consider it for comedic moment, though I like to spread the wealth, up to an extent.

Glad you guys like the gif, and yes, you should check Adam's Rib out. :)
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Teproc

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Re: A Filmspotter's Marathon of Filmspotting Marathons
« Reply #209 on: July 19, 2016, 06:11:37 AM »
Dont Look Back (D.A. Pennebaker, 1967)



Adam & Sam's take (starts at 44:23)

Dont Look Back mostly takes place in rooms (of the green or hotel kind), where Bob Dylan and his friends/associates are basically hanging out during a UK tour. There is a constant ballet of people shyly opening the door, risking a look and entering to see the main man. They all seem to be expecting different things from him : some insight on life, an explanation of why his fans love his songs, sometimes even friendship. As Adam and Sam discuss, Dylan doesn't exactly come off all that great from those interactions : arrogant and vapid are words that come mind, especially in that Time interview.

And yet... the film I was reminded of the most when I was thinking about it afterwards was The Last Temptation of Christ, strangely enough. For many at the time, Dylan was basically a prophet, someone to guide them into a new era, to lead a cultural revolution that everybody felt was coming any time now. A journalist describes his songs as sermons early on. He's asked about religion and spirituality, about what his message is, about the youth of the day, and he simply has no answer. There's a reason he's a singer and not a politician : the only way he can find to express himself is through music and songwriting, and once he's off the stage he's barely coherent, generally stand-offish and even petty at times. Like Dafoe in Scorsese's film, he's making it up as he goes along, and can't keep up with what's constantly asked of him (not entirely unfairly I should say, when he opens his concerts with The Times They Are A Changin' ). He's just a man, checking himself in the mirror before going on stage, getting competitive with a British "rival" (Donovan), and marveling at the new guitars they have in Britain in an amusing piece of unintentional foreshadowing.

There's also the question of how much we're getting of the "real" Dylan here. Pennebaker's fly-on-the-wall style is great at making us forget the camera (especially in a surprising scene where we see Albert Grossman negociating bookings for the tour), but there had to have been a certain degree of performance to what Dylan was doing : you can especially feel it in the protracted argument with the annoying young "reporter". I don't know that it detracts from the film though, because I get the feeling he's performing for the other people in the room as much as he is doing it for the camera. To get back to Pennebaker, his style meshes very well with Dylan : unfocused, unkempt, refusing to really tell a story, instead focused on capturing moments. Intimate, wonderful moments such as Dylan and Baez singing a Hank Williams song in a hotel room as well as the more theatrical scenes (anything involving Donovan) and the concerts of course. The editing is sharp, but also leaves much to the imagination, much like Dylan's famously hard to understand lyrics.

8/10
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