Author Topic: 1945 Retrospots: Discovery Project  (Read 22344 times)

1SO

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Re: 1945 Retrospots: Discovery Project
« Reply #140 on: May 24, 2017, 10:48:08 PM »
Wonder Man

#69 out of 79 for 1945

Oscar Winner: Best Special Effects
Oscar Nominee: Sound, Score, Song "So in Love"

I can't recommend it for anything, but the IMDB page is full of praise for Danny Kaye.
« Last Edit: May 24, 2017, 11:36:01 PM by 1SO »

pixote

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Re: 1945 Retrospots: Discovery Project
« Reply #141 on: May 31, 2017, 01:21:19 AM »


Leave Her to Heaven  (John M. Stahl, 1945)

Bosley Crowther, in his Christmas 1945 collection of reviews in the New York Times (a collection that has me curious to track down Snafu), dismisses Leave Her to Heaven as "a piece of cheap fiction done up in Technicolor and expensive sets." There's something to that. This is pretty silly stuff ... but it's so well done! The color and the art direction and the kettle drums and Gene Tierney! I thought there was something more going on here than sociopathic Oedipal possessiveness, but oh well. How good is the scene on the lake, though? And the shot of Cornel Wilde when he finally overhears the extent of Tierney's jealousy. Darryl Hickman is a bit annoying (gosh golly!) and Vincent Price seems wasted until the end, when he overtakes things with some larger-than-life theatrics. The courtroom scene tipped this film towards a lower grade, for me, exposing the ineffectualness of many of he characters as just weak writing. I liked Jeanne Crain here more than I usually do; probably not enough for my ballot but we'll see.

Potential Nominations: Cinematography, Actress (Gene Tierney), Art Direction, Score, Supporting Actress (Jeanne Crain)

Grade: B

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« Last Edit: June 12, 2017, 04:42:29 PM by pixote »
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pixote

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Re: 1945 Retrospots: Discovery Project
« Reply #142 on: July 05, 2017, 05:23:57 PM »


Children of Paradise  (Marcel Carné, 1945)

Sigh, another screening from months back that I failed to write down substantive notes for. This Carné film was a fairly big disappointment for me when I first watched in years ago, with my expectations sky high from my love of Le Jour se Leve and the reputation of this later film as Carné's masterpiece. Watching again now, in 35mm even, I still struggled to appreciate the film as much as I wanted to. It's certainly an impressive production — the art direction should be one of the favorites in the Filmspots, and the ensemble cast should get strong consideration as well — but my engagement ran from hot to cold and back again over the course of the three-hour running time. The details are largely wonderful, but the overall framework presents a challenge. The romance at the core of the narrative fails to resonate with me, seeming merely imitative of the idea of a great literary romance rather than anything real or concrete. In fact, many of the relationships between the characters strain credibility, feeling forced and written, at the mercy of grand themes.

Looking back through this thread, I see that I could have just quoted Teproc: "The central romance, between Garance and Baptiste (and all the other ones, but those two connect them all and are the closest this film has to leads), doesn't really work for me." We differ, though, in our appreciation of Jean-Louis Barrault's performance (I was a fan). I liked Arletty as well, with her performance doing much to overcome certain deficiencies in the writing of her character, but I imagine that I might share Teproc's subjective take on her language, had I any sort of mastery of French. I can very much relate to oldkid's review as well. I think we liked the film about the same amount.

Potential Nominations: Art Direction, Ensemble Cast, Actress (Arletty), Actor (Jean-Louis Barrault), Non-English Language Film, Score

Grade: B

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pixote

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Re: 1945 Retrospots: Discovery Project
« Reply #143 on: July 05, 2017, 09:55:39 PM »










A Diary for Timothy  (Humphrey Jennings, 1945)

There is some good imagery here — especially the quotidian exterior shots, with their emphasis on rain, steam, fog, silhouettes, faces, and stark contrasts — and some wonderful time capsule value, but the various elements never fully cohered for me. I can't fault any particular aspect — it all sounds great on paper — but for some reason it doesn't fully work. There is perhaps a staginess to some of the interior moments that, in contrast to the exterior shots, interrupt the poetry of the film and thus the spell it held over me. I'm not really sure.

Potential Nominations: None, assuming there are five better short films out there.

Grade: B-

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pixote

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Re: 1945 Retrospots: Discovery Project
« Reply #144 on: July 05, 2017, 10:28:09 PM »






























Kashchei the Immortal  (Aleksandr Rou, 1945)

I went into this movie really, really hoping it'd be something I could champion for these Retro Filmspots, but it just wasn't to be. Kashchei the Immortal is a very weird comedy-fantasy-folklore-propaganda film. The multitude of special effects shots make it feel like a Ray Harryhausen film filtered through the style of a Republic serial. There are a good number of exciting visuals that speak to talented imaginations, but overall I'd classify this as a mildly interesting mess. It did however succeed in making me want to revisit the 1940 Thief of Bagdad sooner than later; and I'd like to see another performance from Aleksandr Shirshov, who popped off the screen with the mix of tenderness and sassiness he brought to the sidekick character of Bulat the Joker. As everybody knows, all fairy tales are improved by homoeroticism.

Potential Nominations: None.

Grade: C

pixote
« Last Edit: July 05, 2017, 10:30:04 PM by pixote »
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pixote

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Re: 1945 Retrospots: Discovery Project
« Reply #145 on: July 07, 2017, 12:22:04 PM »


'I Know Where I'm Going!'  (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, 1945)

As seems to have been the case with every 1945 feature I've revisited for this project, 'I Know Where I'm Going!' didn't impress me quite as much the second time around. Erwin Hiller's cinematography still has moments moments of excellence, and the highlands setting has a lot of appeal (though I found myself wishing for more of Flaherty's sensibility), but the story is perhaps too predictable and the themes rather trite. The movie is three-quarters It Happened One Night and one-quarter Sullivan's Travels, but not quite equal to the sum of its parts.

I'm having difficulty evaluating Wendy Hiller's performance fairly. Her character, as written, strikes me as problematic, and it's tricky to separate the writing from the acting. Hiller nails some moments with precision, but there's ultimately a lack of dimension to her character, and I'm not sure the script can take the full blunt of the blame there. It doesn't help matters that Pamela Brown pops so vividly off the screen whenever she appears, even when she doesn't say a word. Roger Livesy perhaps loses points for not conveying why his character gets so hung up on Hiller when the more appealing (and fiancé-less) Brown is standing right there. His voice is as lovely as ever (Disney should've written a character for him in every animated film), but he has the screen presence here of a supporting player, a bit lost in Hiller's shadow.

Potential Nominations: Cinematography, Actress (Wendy Hiller)

Grade: B

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Re: 1945 Retrospots: Discovery Project
« Reply #146 on: July 10, 2017, 12:36:33 AM »


The Mouse Comes to Dinner
William Hanna & Joseph Barbera, 1945

Review here.

Grade: C
     

Mouse in Manhattan
William Hanna & Joseph Barbera, 1945

Review here.

Grade: C+



Potential nominations: None, but I encourage more people to check out Mouse in Manhattan to see if it plays better outside the context of a marathon.

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mañana

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Re: 1945 Retrospots: Discovery Project
« Reply #147 on: July 12, 2017, 07:16:19 PM »
These posts are inspiring.
There's no deceit in the cauliflower.

DarkeningHumour

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Re: 1945 Retrospots: Discovery Project
« Reply #148 on: July 14, 2017, 01:21:38 PM »
I thought I would have watched at least a couple more movies for this marathon at this point in the year. Sorry pix.
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oldkid

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Re: 1945 Retrospots: Discovery Project
« Reply #149 on: July 16, 2017, 02:16:03 AM »
A Mouse in Manhattan

Jerry Mouse decides to leave Tom behind and capture the excitement of the Big Apple.  And what a lot of excitement there is-- skyscrapers, high-heeled shoes, cute cut-out girls, the sewer.  And, of course, the many dangers that a country mouse doesn't grasp about the city.  Jerry then high-tails it home, happy to be there.

This is a wonderful hat's off to New York City, along with the Gershwineque music in the background.  But it is all silent, somewhere between Keaton and Lloyd.  But it really exemplifies the direction of American silents, the goofy overtaking the sentimental, but it also reminds us of the awe and beauty that the silents used to have.  This isn't just comedy, it is almost worship of the Great American City. The animation is almost glowing and Jerry never looked better.  Also, why does no one talk about Jerry as one of the great dancers of the silver screen?

4/5

Quiet Please!

This Tom and Jerry cartoon won the Oscar for Best Animated Short of 1945.

Spike, the local bulldog, has been disturbed by T and J's antics, trying to take a nap.  So he threatens Tom, which gives Jerry the bright idea of making a bunch of noise, trying to disturb Spike. 

This animation has a number of short speeches, including a sentence by Tom, which is almost unheard of.  Spike's initial speech is necessary to establish the plot, but the rest just detracted from the classic formula.  We get some almost Itchy and Scratchy level violence in this episode, but that doesn't add anything to the comedy.  Frankly, I think a Mouse in Manhattan should have gotten the Oscar.

3/5
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