Poll

What's your favorite film by Frank Capra?

Long Pants
0 (0%)
The Power of the Press
0 (0%)
The Matinee Idol
0 (0%)
Ladies of Leisure
0 (0%)
The Miracle Woman
0 (0%)
Platinum Blonde
1 (2.6%)
Forbidden
0 (0%)
American Madness
0 (0%)
The Bitter Tea of General Yen
1 (2.6%)
Lady for a Day
0 (0%)
It Happened One Night
6 (15.4%)
Broadway Bill
0 (0%)
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
0 (0%)
Lost Horizon
1 (2.6%)
You Can't Take It with You
4 (10.3%)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
6 (15.4%)
Meet John Doe
0 (0%)
Why We Fight (series)
0 (0%)
Arsenic and Old Lace
2 (5.1%)
It's a Wonderful Life
15 (38.5%)
State of the Union
0 (0%)
Riding High
0 (0%)
Here Comes the Groom
0 (0%)
A Hole in the Head
0 (0%)
Pocketful of Miracles
0 (0%)
haven't seen any
2 (5.1%)
don't like any
1 (2.6%)
other
0 (0%)

Total Members Voted: 38

Author Topic: Capra, Frank  (Read 10185 times)

oldkid

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Re: Capra, Frank - Directors Best Poll
« Reply #40 on: January 04, 2013, 10:56:32 PM »
I'll see your unpopular opinion and raise you:

You Can't Take it With You
It's a Wonderful Life


Arscinic and Old Lace
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington


Meet John Doe






It Happened One Night
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verbALs

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Re: Capra, Frank - Directors Best Poll
« Reply #41 on: January 05, 2013, 12:01:04 AM »
I was still hot for Donna Reed when she was in Dallas. :o
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1SO

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Re: Capra, Frank - Directors Best Poll
« Reply #42 on: March 20, 2013, 11:02:42 PM »
State of the Union
* * *

Trying to navigate my feelings on this film, I would have to call it a mess-terpiece because it's so great so often and then every once in a while I realize the story is relying on one-dimensional characters with agendas built out of distilled evil. (We get it. People are too stupid to vote for the best candidate.) Sometimes it's as complex as an excellent West Wing two-parter and sometimes you have the bad guys just bellowing or throwing evil stares at the camera. Capra taps into a dark vein of the American dream and stays on the cynical side longer than any of his other films. (Usually it's just the 3rd Act dramatics.) But he can't resist his Capra corn and though it only appears about 4 times here, it's never felt more detrimental to the overall film.

Katharine Hepburn has probably never done more with less. Often she's just the token love interest on the side and suddenly they remember they have her on the payroll and give her something really interesting to play with for about 5 minutes. It's mostly Spencer Tracy's show and he's ready to give the big speeches and lengthy monologues. Much of it sounds like it was written by Obama the idealist who's taking revenge on the compromise machine that got him elected. The parallels to today's political climate is fascinating, and overall the dramatics come off like a great fireworks display. But the arcs are stitched together like a highlight reel of great movies. They don't flow organically, though they do pack a heavyweight punch.

don s.

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Re: Capra, Frank - Directors Best Poll
« Reply #43 on: March 21, 2013, 12:16:55 PM »
I'm voting for Platinum Blonde because I just recently saw it for the first time and was knocked out by it. Loretta Young (as the non-blonde) was a revelation.
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1SO

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Re: Capra, Frank - Directors Best Poll
« Reply #44 on: March 21, 2013, 10:52:27 PM »
Lost Horizon
* *

Because of Capra's name I didn't think this would be as strange as it sounded, but it turned out to be even stranger. The kind of project that made me wonder how he got producers to finance it. Sure, this sort of unfilmable challenge is what leads to artistic triumphs like Life of Pi, but while Capra may have had the passion for the job, he didn't have the skills.

There's a lot I like, mostly the intellectual debates about how Shangri-La could possibly exist and thrive. (Subtle hints that most civilizations are brought down by men who lust after women though it's the woman that takes the blame.) The character interactions are set up to play nicely off each other, but many of the discussions are as exciting as trade disputes in Star Wars. The High Lama delivering endless speeches at peace (during the dawn of a great war.) I noticed even the staging of some of these conversations are done in long static shots. Ultimately the people I didn't know (Ronald Colman and John Howard) were lifeless and the two I love (Edward Everett Horton and Thomas Mitchell) were only asked to be bumbling comic relief. Horton in particular is like watching Eddie Murphy trying to pump air into a lifeless part.

Then there are the ??? touches. The woman who attaches pipes to birds' tails. The ending, which rushes through doom, out the other side and then inexplicably back into the cold. It's like they condensed another hour into montage shots and newspaper headlines. Characters we've never met talking about our leads. No wonder I was so disconnected. In the end, I'm genuinely surprised by this film's lasting reputation. I admire the ambition of the project, but of the 9 Capra I've seen it's my least favorite.
« Last Edit: April 05, 2018, 12:09:50 AM by 1SO »

1SO

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Re: Capra, Frank - Directors Best Poll
« Reply #45 on: December 15, 2013, 06:31:37 PM »

Riding High

What starts as a plodding, drawn-out comedy turns into a charming and hilarious musical with a cast to die for. Frank Capra reworks a film he made years earlier (using some of the same footage), adds in Bing Crosby, who sings some delightful songs and creates a winning underdog picture. Top of the costars is William Demarest (was this guy ever NOT funny?), who makes the most of every line and breaks Bing on camera a couple of times. Then there's Ward Bond, Raymond Walburn, Harry Davenport, Margaret Hamilton (as 'Vinegar Puss'), Gene Lockhart, Charles Lane and a showcase cameo by Oliver Hardy.

The movie was largely unsuccessful and at the end it's easy to see why. I want to recommend this to Sandy for 2014s Music of May, but be ready for some heavy tragedy in the final minutes. What happens is earned, and even subtly hinted at, but completely unnecessary. After a triumphant audience-pleasing ending, the film chooses to go out with moroseness and a heavy-handed message that removes this from my "Buy It" pile. I don't even think I could watch it skipping the end. It'd be too hard knowing what happens.
Rating: * * *

Sandy, since you probably won't watch this, I want to give you a taste of the musical good life. Bring Crosby leading a very Crosby-ed version of "Campton Races." Enjoy the happiness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2B5XQCLtLQ

Sandy

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Re: Capra, Frank - Directors Best Poll
« Reply #46 on: December 15, 2013, 09:23:28 PM »
Thanks 1SO :D, I like how the lady is walking along, steps back on a girls toes, turns and apologizes and they keep it in the film. I've put it on my watchlist and will remember to prepare myself for the ending.

1SO

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Re: Capra, Frank - Directors Best Poll
« Reply #47 on: April 24, 2014, 08:20:08 PM »
The Bitter Tea of General Yen
* * 1/2

I'll admit Bing Crosby sends very mixed messages when he performs in blackface in Holiday Inn or makes a film like Dixie, but there's a sweetness that overrides the naiveté. This progressive look at race relations also means well, but it sinks deep in stereotype of both Chinese people and ignorant, rich, white folks. In the most bizarre scene, Stanwyck's character dreams she is nearly ravaged by a devilish version of General Yen only to be rescued and seduced by an angelic version. The entire film operates in these extremes, rarely touching the ground in the middle.

It's a surprisingly watchable train wreck that never quite reaches the overkill heights of Josef von Sternberg, though this script would be right in his (and Dietrich's) wheelhouse. Still at the dawn of her great career, Barabara Stanwyck already commands the screen like few others ever have. Nils Asther is fine as the white guy playing a Chinese man. If you want to see this performance done right, watch Paul Muni in The Good Earth. For entertainment with your history, watch Dixie. For good Frank Capra, watch nearly any other film he's made. This tea isn't bitter (or sweet) enough.

1SO

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Re: Capra, Frank - Directors Best Poll
« Reply #48 on: April 26, 2014, 04:11:41 PM »
Ladies of Leisure
* * * 1/2

What starts as a typical tale of a rich guy meeting a woman from the wrong side of the tracks, grows into a complex, highly relatable view of people in love defending themselves against the outside world who can only judge this book by its cover. 84 years later, the dramatic conflict here still rings true.

Barbara Stanwyck's 4th on-screen appearance and it's all there. Brassy, vulnerable. She takes a couple of scenes to grow into the part, but this is my 47th Stanwyck film and there are moments here I've never seen her play before. Of her pre-Lady Eve work this is my favorite, above Baby Face and Stella Dallas.

This 1930s production has the rough, technical qualities of the early sound era, but the emotions are very strong. With General Yen, Capra was tripped up by the social agenda. This film is about class differences, but it's told on human terms and Capra's at his best when taking a humanistic approach.

Another Capra touch I've noticed. He likes to wait until the last possible moment before pulling out the happy end. Think of Mr. Smith, John Doe or Wonderful Life. You think the happy ending is coming, but he draws things out a few minutes more, and he gets away with it too, which makes the ending such sweet relief.

jascook

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Re: Capra, Frank - Directors Best Poll
« Reply #49 on: June 27, 2014, 08:24:19 PM »
It's a Wonderful Life: 10/10
It Happened One Night: 9/10
Arsenic and Old Lace: 9/10
The Strong Man: 8/10
You Can't Take It With You: 7/10
« Last Edit: April 19, 2017, 06:44:01 AM by jascook »
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