Plain Old Tele Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 Our week-night show is tonight, not Wednesday -- the room goes live at 9:30 PM EST (about one hour from now). Hopefully folks here can join. @lorddemaxus @Spaghetti I know you've made several of our screenings, hopefully you can make this one too. @terrestrial I know the timing might be awkward, but it'd be great to see you there too. Tonight is a special DOUBLE FEATURE. First up is a favorite of mine, a 1992 documentary about cinematography called VISIONS OF LIGHT. Paraphrased and edited from IMDB’s summary: Cameramen and women discuss the craft and art of cinematography, illustrating their points with clips from 100 films, from Birth of a Nation to Do the Right Thing. Themes include the beginnings of cinematography, how technological changes in movies (the arrival of sound, color, and wide screens) required creative responses from DPs, and how these artisans constantly invented new equipment and tried new things, with wonderful results. The narration takes us through the identifiable studio styles of the 30s, the emergence of noir, the New York look, and the impact of Europeans and European cinema. This is a delightful and informative documentary — even if you know most of the broad aspects that gets discussed, it’s great to hear from the men (and a few women) who either made the images or learned directly from those who did. In addition to clips from tons of famous movies, there’s also lots of lesser-known or lesser-seen ones; when I first saw it, I was inspired to track down a lot of these to watch. Some caveats: this is pretty focused on the American studio system, so you’re not gonna find many foreign films mentioned or explored (although many of the more recent DPs come from Europe); it also only goes up to 1990. And lastly, although it’s not intended as such, seeing it now is a vivid reminder that cinematography was almost exclusively a man’s world for the 20th century — there are a couple of women interviewed here but for the most part it’s a bunch of dudes. I’d love a sequel that covers from 1990 to the present, although we’ll probably never see this happen. All in all, it’s a glorious tribute to the movies of the 20th century through the amazing imagery that these technical and artistic geniuses were able to conjure up. Because it's only 90-odd minutes, we're also going to show Chris Marker's innovative, experimental, and famous short film LA JETEE -- a direct inspiration to Terry Gilliam's and David Peoples' 12 MONKEYS. Some of you might have seen it in film school, but if you haven't, it's well worth watching. Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/5423825182?pwd=T1VuUmJ5OVB1ZjRNQmNHRVpDQ3lkUT09 Meeting ID: 542 382 5182 Passcode: BOT 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrestrial Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 It‘s nearly 3 in the morning here, I was just reading myself to go to bed, have to be up in a few (three) hours. The documentary sounds very interesting. Argghhh, what a dilemma (?) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrestrial Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 fast question: is it Zoom Cloud meetings or Zoom Room or...? in the apple app store? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap Posted January 13, 2021 Author Share Posted January 13, 2021 40 minutes ago, terrestrial said: fast question: is it Zoom Cloud meetings or Zoom Room or...? in the apple app store? Cloud Meeting is what you want!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plain Old Tele Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 2 hours ago, terrestrial said: It‘s nearly 3 in the morning here, I was just reading myself to go to bed, have to be up in a few (three) hours. The documentary sounds very interesting. Argghhh, what a dilemma (?) Lucky for you, it's on YouTube: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrestrial Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 3 hours ago, Plain Old Tele said: Lucky for you, it's on YouTube: - snip - Sadly its another of thise for me: Video unavailable This video contains content from UniversumFilm. It is not available in your country 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorddemaxus Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 Sorry guys, was asleep. Will be joining on Saturday. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ezen Baklattan Posted January 16, 2021 Share Posted January 16, 2021 For this session of our own little film club, I chose HIS GIRL FRIDAY (1940), the quintessential screwball comedy from versatile director Howard Hawks, whose adventure drama ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS we watched in December at the recommendation of @Jake Gittes. You're all in for a real treat today. Known for its rapid fire dialogue and sharp witted romance, AFI has called it the 19th greatest comedy film ever made, and the film has become an object of loving parody for decades. Following the madcap and scheming relationship that blossoms between newspaper crew members Walter Burns (Cary Grant) and Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell), scheming and hilarity ensue in equal measure. Just be sure to pay attention, or you'll miss the non stop dialogue! https://letterboxd.com/johncassavetes/film/his-girl-friday/ Interestingly, this is one of the few films we've seen so far that's actually in the Public Domain. Even the play it was based on, The Front Page by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, is still under copyright. Can't make it tonight? Hou can easily find the film on YouTube. Hell, here you go! Either way, let's enjoy this unique and wonderful little comedy together this afternoon! 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plain Old Tele Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 9 hours ago, Wondy said: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5423825182?pwd=T1VuUmJ5OVB1ZjRNQmNHRVpDQ3lkUT09 the room is open. This is a GREAT Minnelli musical with Fred Astaire. and if you're a fan of Michael Jackson, make sure to tune in for the Girl Hunt number. Cyd Charisse, GOAT. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macleod Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 The story is that Albert Pyun's original edit of Captain America was over three and a half hours...but I bet that most of that footage is lost... and he seems to have made his more recent "Director's cut" very hard to find, as well! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap Posted February 5, 2021 Author Share Posted February 5, 2021 FEBRUARY SCHEDULE When thinking of the schedule for this month, I really wanted to focus on romantic comedies and romances, because I had told @Plain Old Tele after watching The Man Who Would Be King "no more boy movies." LOL. SOUNDER February 4, 2021 / 9:30PM EST In memoriam of Cicely Tyson, who passed away last week at the age of 96, we're going to watch her Academy Award nominated performance in Sounder from 1972. Tyson stars as Rebecca, a young mother carrying for her family and their farm while her husband is serving a prison sentence for stealing food. Her performance is quintessential "the quiet storm" and it's a masterclass. In an interview on the Turner Classic Movies cable channel, she recalled that she had been asked to test for a smaller role in the film and said she wanted to play the mother, Rebecca. She was told, “You’re too young, you’re too pretty, you’re too sexy, you’re too this, you’re too that, and I said, `I am an actress.’” THE LAST PICTURE SHOW February 6, 2021 / 2:00PM EST In memoriam of Cloris Leachman, who passed away last week at the age of 94, we're going to watch her Academy Award winning performance in The Last Picture Show. Us younger folks might remember her best as the crazy old broad on Dancing With the Stars, but she was actually a really great actress. The Last Picture Show is directed and written by Peter Bogdanovich. "In 1951, a group of high schoolers come of age in a bleak, isolated, atrophied North Texas town that is slowly dying, both culturally and economically." MOONSTRUCK February 10, 2021 / Wednesday 9:30PM EST SNAP. OUT. OF. IT. Here's the T. Over the last month I have rewatched all 12 seasons of RuPauls's Drag Race, plus 4 Seasons of All-Stars (LOL, NOT rewatching Season Three. I can't go through that TRAUMA again.) So, it's time for Cher! And Nic Cage! THE BODYGUARD February 13, 2021 / Saturday 2PM EST Our second "Music Icon Turns Actress" of the week is Whitney Houston in the Bodyguard. It's kind of hard to stress how iconic this experience is. It's a pure Whitney Vehicle at the height of her Power. Kevin Coster is blessed to be in her presence. PARIS BLUES February 17, 2021 / Wednesday 9:30PM EST There were a bunch of options for a romance with Sidney Poitier. I thought about Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, A Patch of Blue, or A Warm December. But I settled on Paris Blues which is set in Paris in the 1960's, and follows two American expatriate jazz musicians working in the city, and dating two American tourists. It also stars Diahann Caroll, Paul Newman, and Joanne Woodward. Paul and Joanne are married IRL, so it's kind of a two-for. TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT February 20, 2021 / Saturday 2PM EST A month of classic romances and no Bogie and Bacall. Never. This Howard Hawks film is Bacall's screen debut and the film she met Bogie on. BRIEF ENCOUNTER February 24, 2021 / Wednesday 9:30PM EST Often talked about as one the best romance films of all time, this entry by David Lean (who that? Wonder if he did anything after this?), follows a woman tempted to cheat on her husband. Based on a Noel Coward play. CARMEN JONES February 27, 2021 / Saturday 2:00PM EST A perfect segue to March, will be modeled after TCM's 31 Days of Oscar, Carman Jones stars Dorothy Dandridge as Carmen. For this role, she is the first African-American woman to be nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role, 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macleod Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 (edited) I took a class during an MA program at a very well-known university where the Prof (a well-established writer/critic) took us through experimental blendings of Hollywood films from the same release year/era. One night we literally watched THE BODYGUARD overlaid with DANCES WITH WOLVES (!), both audio and visual on top of each other. It was tremendously fascinating to see how movies (with the same star) made in similar years had numerous very similar rhythms, beats, even dialogue! The juxtapositions on American ideology were equally fascinating. Edited February 5, 2021 by Macleod 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap Posted February 12, 2021 Author Share Posted February 12, 2021 Tonight we are honoring Christopher Plummer with Beginners: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5423825182?pwd=T1VuUmJ5OVB1ZjRNQmNHRVpDQ3lkUT09 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plain Old Tele Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 Was you ever bit by a dead bee, @Wondy? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plain Old Tele Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 Ugh, I was doing tax stuff and totally forgot about today. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap Posted February 28, 2021 Author Share Posted February 28, 2021 Hey! I apologize. I’ve had a crazy weekend. We’re moving this to Monday or Tuesday, depending on the group consensus in the telegram chat. P.m. me if you’re not in the chat and you have a preference! I’m going to post the March schedule when we show Carmen Jones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fancyarcher Posted February 28, 2021 Share Posted February 28, 2021 Funny enough @Wondy, I'm taking a class right now on broadway musical standards, and the teacher has already made a Carmen reference. That'll make this viewing of the film extra special for me. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap Posted March 1, 2021 Author Share Posted March 1, 2021 MARCH PROGRAMMING Two things happened last week; A. I realized that TCM's annual 31 Days of Oscars in March will be held in April, and B. I finally had my COVID related rock-bottom breakdown. (I'm fine now. It was a long weekend). Thus it's a perfect segue to switch April's Comedy Programming to March. Cause, I need the LOLZ. Everyone made some AWESOME suggestions, and I'm wicked excited for this line up: CARMEN JONES MARCH 2, 2021 Reschedule from this weekend! BEAT THE DEVIL MARCH 3, 2021 @Plain Old Tele's suggested this John Huston and Humphrey Bogart film, co-written by Truman Capote about how "On their way to Africa are a group of rogues who hope to get rich there, and a seemingly innocent British couple. They meet and things happen..." (IMDB). BLAZING SADDLES MARCH 6, 2021 Comedy? Without Mel Brooks. Not Today, says @MrPink. "In order to ruin a western town, a corrupt politician appoints a black Sheriff, who promptly becomes his most formidable adversary," in Brooks' masterpiece. Vulture just said it was one of the best endings of all time. THE BIRDCAGE MARCH 10, 2021 This is a Programmer Override. Sorry, Not Sorry. In honor of March 8th, the 25th Anniversary of The Birdcage's theatrical release, I'm showing the one movie that literally brings me to tears from laughter. SOME LIKE IT HOT MARCH 13, 2021 This month for our Billy Wilder Fan Club, @Ezen Baklattan suggested we watch Some Like It Hot, which AFI in 2000 deemed the greatest comedy of all time. PILLOW TALK MARCH 17, 2021 @Rorschach suggested we complete our Tony Randall double feature with some good old fashion Pillow Talk. Doris Day and Rock Hudson star in the classic about "An interior decorator and a playboy songwriter share a telephone party line and size each other up." (IMDb) HELLZAPOPPPIN' MARCH 20, 2021 @Jake Gittes suggested this surrealist comedy from 1941, about a "Olsen and Johnson, a pair of stage comedians, try to turn their play into a movie and bring together a young couple in love, while breaking the fourth wall every step of the way." (IMDb). Also has a VERY famous Lindy Hop. DR. STRANGELOVE: OR, HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB MARCH 24, 2021 Suggested by @Rorschach AND @4815162342 AND @MrPink, is Stanley Kubrick's dark comedy, Dr. Strangelove. LOOK AT THE MAP! CATCUS FLOWER March 23, 2021 Suggested by @Fancyarcher, a movie he hasn't seen! "A dentist pretends to be married to avoid commitment, but when he falls for his girlfriend and proposes, he must recruit his lovelorn nurse to pose as his wife." (IMDb). Goldie Hawn's first film role, and she won an Oscar for it. THE IN-LAWS MARCH 31, 2021 Suggested by @4815162342 and @Plain Old Tele, our second Alan Arkin feature, center on: "On the eve of their children's marriage, NYC in-laws Sheldon Kornpett and Vince Ricardo embark on a series of misadventures involving the CIA, the Treasury Department and Central American dictators. (IMDb) EASTER PARADE APRIL 3, 2021 It's Easter weekend, so before we start on our April Oscar adventures, we're going to take an obligatory detour to the magical land of Judy Garland. THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING, THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING APRIL 7, 2021 Suggested by @4815162342, this comedy is about "Without hostile intent, a Soviet submarine runs aground off New England. Men are sent for a boat, but many villagers go into a tizzy, risking bloodshed." (IMDB) 3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap Posted March 7, 2021 Author Share Posted March 7, 2021 We didnt post this before, cause Everyone thought people who have never seen the movie should go in blind. This is a fun documentary on the making of the movie, but some insights from the creators. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap Posted March 11, 2021 Author Share Posted March 11, 2021 Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/5423825182?pwd=T1VuUmJ5OVB1ZjRNQmNHRVpDQ3lkUT09 Meeting ID: 542 382 5182 Passcode: BOT WE ARE SHOWING THE BIRDCAGE IN LIKE FIFTEEN MINUTES. THIS MOVIE MADE MIKE NICHOLS LAUGH SO HARD WHILE FILMING THEY HARD TO COVER HIM WITH A SOUND BLANKET. 100/10 HIGHLY RECOMMEND @Rorschach @Fancyarcher @MrPink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
