Recommendations

I'm trying to make a dent in my New Yorker magazines, which have been piling up week by week lately. I just came across this in a recent issue: a highly recommended film about the Iraq war starring one of my faves, Tommy Lee Jones. It's called "In the Valley of Elah." Lots of "brilliants" and "wonderfuls" surrounding this. I think it'll be released in November. Also features Susan Sarandon. (Rickydoodle, I thought you in particular might be interested in this, given our "Jarhead" discussion.)

Also, I just got around to reading Marjane Satrapi's autobiography, written in comic-book style ("Persepolis"), about growing up female in Iran just before the Islamic Revolution (women wore miniskirts in Tehran) and after (strictly enforced veils and chadors). Satrapi's parents were progressive intellectuals, and, after the Iraq-Iran war began, managed to send their daughter to Austria, where she received a liberal European education (vs. the misogynist, nationalistic bullshit that was passing for schooling in Iran). As I was ordering another of her books, the lovely sounding "Chicken with Prunes," I noticed that "Persepolis" has been made into an animated movie that'll be released in the U.S. this winter. I can't wait!

fancy camera work

One of many things I love about Hitchcock movies is the use of terrific camera work -- a scene so clever or well-shot that I stop to appreciate it regardless of how engrossed I am in the storyline. The best example would be the "Strangers on a Train" scene where Farley is playing a tennis match, and you see the crowd's gaze moving left to right, following the ball, all except for Bruno, who's staring at Farley. Creepy.

In "The Lady Vanishes," I thought the standout moment was when the noise in the train picks up, and Miss Froy slowly traces her name on the train window. Iris had just woken up, and Miss Froy was babbling about her million Mexicans, and all that context made me think on first viewing that the scene was just a dream. It was an interlude into the surreal part of the film, and I found the camera work to be clever.

Cricket or bust!

Ever-useful Wikipedia entry on Caldicott and Charters:
"In 'The Lady Vanishes,' the pair are hilariously singleminded cricket fans, rushing back to England to see the last days of a test match. They proved so popular with audiences that they recurred in the Gilliat-and-Launder films 'Night Train to Munich' (1940, also starring Margaret Lockwood) and 'Millions Like Us' (1943), and in the BBC radio serials 'Crook's Tour' (1941, made into a film later that year) and 'Secret Mission 609' (1942).

Do you suppose the filmmakers anticipated the pair's reception and thus left in so many scenes with them at the beginning of the movie? Because the lagging start easily could have been fixed by taking out the recurring scenes where they share a room with the maid. Erin said earlier that "LV" was like watching three distinct movies, so maybe stock insular Englishmen were a better fit for a different kind of film. Consider the comparative setup for the illicit lovers -- their backstory was set up quickly and effectively before the story went back to the lead developments.

Margaret Lockwood

Based on a few comments in earlier posts, are we in agreement that Margaret Lockwood didn't measure up as Iris? I'd credit her with at least becoming a more sympathetic character as the movie evolved, since she was such an arrogant, spoiled heiress to begin with. Maybe that bump on the head triggered her personality makeover. Or since this is a movie wherein nobody is who they seem (a governess as a spy, a high-heel-clad agent as a nun), maybe we're supposed to extend Iris the same benefit of the doubt.

Lockwood was all right. She depended a little too much on intense, aren't-I-lovely stares that made her come across more as an ingenue than an actress.

And I wonder whether Hitchcock would have cast her if he'd made the call. Given his proclivity for cool blondes, Lockwood might not have made the cut.

Dame May Whitty

I thought Dame May Whitty was another charming addition to the cast as the missing Miss Froy. I love all of her ramblings about Mother Mountain and Father Mountain, the tea a million Mexicans drink and all that. She might have been channeling Miss Marple -- that foxy sleuth who only seems dithery and amiable.

She was nominated for two Oscars for supporting actress, one for "Mrs. Miniver" and one for "Night Must Fall." The only other film she's appeared in that I've seen is "Suspicion." Sadly, I saw that such a long time ago that I don't remember her, but I'll rent it again.

Poetry and Puppets

Well, Kc’s instructions were to dazzle. Being on somewhat of a Japanese kick of late, I considered Miyazaki’s animation, probably “Spirited Away”. But then I started thinking about films you might never encounter except via something like this club. So that led me to the 2002 movie by Takeshi Kitano, “Dolls”. Then when I remembered that there are some fans of puppetry on this site, the deal was sealed.

Boyish Charm

What I liked best about our film was Michael Redgrave’s character. I think he stole all of his scenes fair and square. Margaret Lockwood was clever enough to bring a pretty face to the contest, but not clever enough to hold her ground.

One of my favorite Redgrave performances was as the school teacher Crocker-Harris in Anthony Asquith’s 1951 “The Browning Version”. It is out on Criterion—I recommend it to all.

All that (evil) jazz

This has nothing to do with Hitchcock. Just something interesting and sinister I heard on NPR's "All Things Considered" today during a segment on Shanghai jazz. An old Chinese guy was talking about his band, which fell in love decades ago with American jazz and became quite a popular group in Shanghai. Then the Cultural Revolution began and he, like all other artists and intellectuals, had to get "rehabilitated." Officials condemned Western music as the instrument of evil. They broke into his house and confiscated his saxophone, which they deemed "pornographic," and his piano. For the next 30 years, he and his fellow musicians could play only Chinese opera of the "revolutionary" variety. He said it became common in Chinese movies to use jazz as background music for villains and "evil" scenes. Crazy, huh?

Prewar tensions

Another point from “The Art of Hitchcock”:
“As in ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much’ and ‘The 39 Steps,’ the politics are again vague, but here the reason was as much the restrictions of British censorship as much as the writers’ deliberate ambiguity: In 1937 and 1938, English films had to maintain a steadfast neutrality about events in Germany and about German expansion throughout Europe. But this requirement paradoxically freed ‘The Lady Vanishes.’ Instead of serving a specific politic, the film became a tightly woven tale in which all appearances are deceiving and characters are sprung free for new relationships.”

Rate it

I hope you enjoyed “The Lady Vanishes,” which was described in one article I read as “a comic thriller” – a unique Hitchcock product. I rated it an 8 (rather than a 9 or 10) largely because of slow pacing at the start of the film. I’d even go so far as to say that the movie takes on a different identity when the main characters finally board the train (or at least until we see the street singer strangled). Prior to that, it felt like we were watching the setup to some screwball romantic comedy. The mystery-thriller doesn’t begin until some 20 minutes into the film – in other Hitchcock pictures I’ve seen, the plot develops immediately, or there’s a heart-pounding prequel (James Stewart, “Vertigo”) that entrances the audience from the get-go.

That said, the movie’s actually just 97 minutes. Did it feel long to you, or did you have a similar reaction to the beginning?

About the film

“The Lady Vanishes,” which came out in 1938, is based on a novel by Ethel Lina White. The screenplay is by Sidney Gilliat, who also worked with Alfred Hitchcock on “Jamaica Inn.” It was remade in 1980 with Cybill Shepherd and Elliott Gould as the leads and Angela Lansbury as Miss Froy. (She would be a good Miss Froy, but the video cover image of Cybill fleeing a train in a torn white dress says “STOP: Do not pass go” to me.)



Right now I’m reading “The Art of Alfred Hitchcock,” by Donald Spoto, which reports that though “The Lady Vanishes” was the crossover hit that helped bring Hitchcock from the U.K. to Hollywood, the film was set up to be made under another director – the script was written, cast announced and most preproduction under way. Nonetheless, it feels like a Hitchcock-brand film to me. Would anyone else have guessed this movie had a different stamp on it?

Next pick

In case there's any confusion, because of the swapping, about who picks next, it's DW (getting back to our original order). Dazzle us, hon.

Today’s random advice: a good time

My brother has been rating movies on the Netflix site, so we occasionally watch films that get recommended to him there. For some time he has noticed that a movie called “Once Upon a time in China 2” keeps coming up. He was a bit put off by the “2”, but finally added it to our selections. It was worth it. Not that I seen so many, but this is certainly one of the best of the Hong Kong “kung-fu” movies I’ve watched. It either transcends or perfects (I’m not sure which) its B-movie genera by using a more-or-less real historical setting, keeping its comedy just this side of slapstick, using that comedy to steer clear of hammy melodrama, and limiting the number and duration of the fights so that the big set piece dance number, err fight scene, in the temple doesn’t lose any of its manic wow.

Among other good-natured barbs, the film has continuous easy-going jabs at all sorts of religion—a large cross gets used as a battle axe—but particularly at religious fanatics that structure their political violence on a set of stupid beliefs about what their gods will do for them.

Oh, and unlike some “kung-fu” movies, this DVD comes with its original Cantonese soundtrack. Could there be a more beautiful language?

Kubrickian?

I was thinking of the Kubrick films I've seen — 2001, Clockwork Orange, The Shining, Eyes Wide Shut, AI, Full Metal Jacket, Lolita — and I was having a hard time thinking of the "Kubrickian" threads in them. I would not guess, if I didn't know already, that the same director made all these films (although I would guess that Spielberg had a hand in AI just from the way it looked and the subject matter). It's interesting to me how some directors have a very bold signature — like you can spot a Woody Allen film from a mile away (urban, angst-ridden, intellectual, silly, self-gazing), and others are harder to identify. Do you see a particular aesthetic in Kubrick's films or a commonality of theme/subject matter? (Now that I think about it more, they all do seem to involve people in extreme situations ... futuristic societies, isolated hotel, war, bizarre sexual situations ... and maybe notions of how society tends to be at odds with human nature and how society seems prone to moving in absurd directions).

Failsafe

Have any of you seen “Failsafe”? It was made at the same time as “Dr. Strangelove” but seems to be much less known today. Not a comedy, it is nevertheless an odd take on nuclear war. Walter Matthau has a great role as the academic adviser to the president.

It’s a good movie for the compare-and-contrast exercise.

Model Airplanes

We have another movie with special effects created by having a foreground object or actor imposed on a background scene that was shot separately. As kc pointed out, this was rather charming in “The Lavender Hill Mob”. But do you think it works here?

The interior of their B-52 was realistic, and I liked the background view of flying when it was out the window. But I think they should have skipped all the exterior shots of the plane since it just looked like the small model that it was and didn’t move in conjunction with the background. Getting damaged by the missile blast wasn’t impressive either. I think it would have been more intense and tightly focused to have done only interior shots. This might be true even if the U.S. Air force had allowed the use of a B-52 which they never would for a critical movie like this.

Ending

Is it just me, or is the ending of Dr. Strangelove a bit muddled?

Alien hand syndrome

What do you think of Dr. Strangelove being in a wheelchair and having an alien hand? Wikipedia says “Strangelove’s appearance echoes the movie villains of the Fritz Lang era in 1920s Germany, in which sinister characters were often portrayed as having some disability.”

And why is he able to walk at the end?

T.J. Kong

The role of T.J. Kong was originally written for John Wayne, but the studio insisted that Sellers play four roles, so the part was given to Sellers. But Sellers sprained his ankle during filming, and was unable to get around in the crowded B-52 cockpit set. So they asked John Wayne to play the role, and he turned it down. Then they asked Slim Pickens.

Pickens had never been outside the U.S. before the filming of Dr. Strangelove, so he had to get a passport in order to get to the filming in England. When he first got to the set, people thought he had dressed for the part -- but that’s how he always dressed, with a cowboy hat and fringed jacket and cowboy boots. And people also thought that he was trying to stay in character between takes and before and after filming, but that’s just because he wasn’t playing a character -- he was just being himself.

What did you think of Pickens as Kong?

Peter Sellers

Were you impressed by Seller’s three roles? I thought he was great, especially when you consider that many of his lines, if not most, were improvised. Kubrick was so pleased with the ad libs that he had them transcribed and put into a post-filming version of the script. He also improvised the Nazi salute -- it was not called for in the original script.

I really enjoyed his three accents -- the upper-class English, the flat midwestern, and the Austrian (which was supposed to approximate German). He also learned a Texas accent for the role of T.J. Kong, which he was originally supposed to play.

The President role was originally played comically, but Kubrick finally insisted that Sellers play it seriously. I think that was a really good change.

Sex

What’s with all the sex in this movie? With a little help from Wikipedia and IMDB, I’ve compiled this list of sexual innuendo:

--The opening scene of the mid-air refueling set to the song “Try a little tenderness”
--Jack Ripper and his “precious bodily fluids” and his “essence” that he denies to women
--Lionel Mandrake’s name (the Mandrake plant is thought to be an aphrodisiac)
--Buck Turgidson’s name
--Buck Turgidson’s secretary (who happens to be the centerfold that T.J. Kong looks at) and her relationship with Buck
--President Merkin Muffley’s name (a merkin is a pubic wig, and muff is slang for pubic hair, of course)
--Soviet Ambassador Alexei de Sadesky’s name (a reference to the Marquis de Sade)
--Dr. Strangelove’s name
--Dr. Strangelove’s apparent arousal at the thought of nuclear war
--Dr. Strangelove’s alien hand masturbating
--Dr. Strangelove’s suggestion of a polygynous society underground
--T.J. Kong straddling the phallic bomb

And I’m sure more could be found. Is this just supposed to be funny, or is there some statement being made about war and sex?

Rating

Those of us who had seen the film before all had given it a 9 on Film Affinity. After watching it again, do you still think it deserves a 9? I revised my rating downward.

I don’t want to exclude you, cl, so please tell us what rating you think it deserves even though you’re only on your first viewing.

Christy's pick

We haven't done Hitchcock yet, so here's an enjoyable early film from the master of suspense.

Best title

Ugetsu has the most beautiful title ever: "Tales of a Pale and Mysterious Moon After the Rain." I love how evocative that is. Another Japanese title I really adore is "The Sailor Who fell From Grace WIth the Sea." I've only read the novel by Yukio Mishima; I have not seen the movie with — egads! — Kris Kristofferson. Has anyone seen it? I am also very intrigued by the title of this new Brad Pitt movie "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford." Are any film titles especially meaningful or poetic to you?