[1SO]

I said it would be a busy month. I still have Tiger of Bengal, The Indian Tomb and The 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse to watch. Today I'm watching Confirm or Deny (1941), which was started by Lang but Archie Mayo took over after six days of production.

[pixote]

I'm enjoying this mini-Lang marathon, so I might keep going with it. Very interested to listen to the audio commentary on The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (trying to condition myself to pronounce it similar to medusa instead of, like, MA-boose) later on tonight; after that, not sure if I'll sneak in a Ministry of Fear rewatch or jump straight to The Indian Tomb ... or neither.

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[1SO]

#142 Ernst Lubitsch Ranked List

Took me years to understand what "The Lubitsch Touch" meant, mostly because I think Trouble in Paradise and To Be or Not to Be are highly overrated. Switch their reputations with Angel and One Hour With You and the world seems right to me. Ninotchka and The Shop Around the Corner stay right where they are, while Design for Living I should probably re-watch even though I already have a large buffet in front of me, mostly from early in his career.
I Don't Want to Be a Man (1918)
Madame DuBarry (1919)
The Marriage Circle (1924)
Lady Windermere's Fan (1925)
Monte Carlo (1930)
Broken Lullaby (1932)

[1SO]

#143 Sidney Lumet Ranked List

If someone said, "Quick, name 3 Sidney Lumet films." I'd probably respond Serpico, Prince of the City and Dog Day Afternoon. I think of Lumet as the definitive NYC filmmaker, even more than Woody Allen, yet only one of his five films in my Essentials is set on the city streets.

I started watching Lumet when I was probably too young to best appreciate him. Because of that, I'd like to rewatch Serpico (1973), which I last watched in the 80s. I've also had a pair of Sean Connery movies on my Watchlist: The Hill (1965) and The Offence (1973).

[pixote]

I've always been mildly interested in The Hill, but I'll probably pass on Lumet. Prince of the City is the one I need to see, and Dog Day Afternoon and The Verdict are the two that I need to rewatch.

Actually, someone randomly gave me the Blu-Ray of Deathtrap not too long ago; maybe I'll use this as a nudge to finally watch it.

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[1SO]

Actually, someone randomly gave me the Blu-Ray of Deathtrap not too long ago; maybe I'll use this as a nudge to finally watch it.

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Deathtrap is one of the biggest disagreements between Junior and me, and we rarely disagree on anything. That alone makes it something to watch. #Team1SO

[pixote]

Are you tracking your director ratings as you move through this project? I imagine most of the directors so far have been known quantities, but have any seen significant upticks in your rating of them?

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[1SO]

I'm keeping a Letterboxd Diary, but since each Director is being handled differently most of these viewings are watching titles outside the canon hoping for Discoveries.

So far I've watched 271 films.
106 features and 1 Short (Scorsese's The Audition) I recommend. 13 of these are Rewatches.
The best Discoveries of this Marathon - in the order that I watched them - are:
The Search (1948, Fred Zinnemann)
Passing Strange (2009, Spike Lee)
The Chase (1966, Arthur Penn)
T2:Trainspotting (2017, Danny Boyle)
Taking Off (1971, Milos Forman)
Park Row (1952, Samuel Fuller)


These are 6 directors I have different levels of admiration, and all of them I look more fondly on because of these films.

[1SO]

#144 Louis Malle Ranked List

I never thought of Malle as part of the French New Wave, looking at his films as strong actor showcases and not an excuse to try something new and throw the rules out the window. That's because I first discovered Malle in the 80s, when the wave had crested and settled. He was popular with Siskel and Ebert, but being young I thought of his work as a bit dry. I still don't love Malle, but after Atlantic City I go into his films more hopeful. (My Dinner with Andre almost undid all that goodwill and certainly would have if I wasn't warned about it.)

I don't want to get too extensive with Malle, but The Lovers (1958) is on 6 ICM Lists and I've been interested in Black Moon (1975). I often read of that one being not so good, but it also seems too weird to pass up.

[Dave the Necrobumper]

Black Moon is very weird, makes House almost normal. Is it good.... tough call, it would need several viewings to determine. It does provide some very odd moments. House is the wrong comparison, Eraserhead would be better, although Black Moon is well lit.