What a delight to watch this movie again after so many years. I loved it when it was first released in 1992, but today I was completely mesmerized by how perfect this movie is.
Yes, perfect. Because it has an impeccable cast, hitting the difficult note between comedy and thriller without any detectable effort. Director Phil Alden Robinson knows exactly when to cut and when to let the camera tell the story with absolutely flawless blocking. His script is full of suprises, without any fat, moving things along fast but never hectically. James Horner delivers another masterful score (by the way, now available in an exquisite remastered and expanded version from La-La Land Records).
And the movie ends swiftly (no endless triple finales, modern moviemakers!) on another of the many laugh out loud jokes which - like the theme of the movie itself (power is now who controls the information) was so precient it is almost scary.
I am a big admirer of Stanley Kubrick´s work. But I have never seen “Barry Lyndon” on the big screen, and only once on an early DVD (not the best transfer). Back then, at least two decades ago, I acknowledged its ambition. But I was more or less watching it like doing a homework assignment, with the expected enthusiasm.
Now, I made another attempt, with the Criterion 4K transfer. And this time I was not just transported into the story by the gorgeous cinematography but by every aspect of this meticulously crafted film. I don’t understand anymore why anyone could consider this film a bore or the main performance by Ryan O´Neal as opaque. The story is full of incidents. No scene is superfluous, every single bit drives the narrative forward by adding more to the central character. He is not as some reviewers claim someone things happen to - from the start he is actively making choices, only some working out for him. Who could not connect with that?
And the wonderful laconic humor Kubrick is known for turns every scene, even the most dramatic ones, into a biting satire on public morals, habits and social rites.
This really is a perfect film and one of Kubrick´s very best.
Yes, it is one of the best Kubrick films. I wish it got recognized by the general movie public a bit more. I still wish to show my friend Dr. Strangelove someday.
Always loved it. Still do. A masterpiece in tension. Redford is sublime. Owen Roizman‘s cinematography is wonderfully measured, letting in light and color without losing the constant threat. Sydney Pollack directs every emotional nuance so precisely.
Watching this and comparing it with too many movies today which clutter up their plots, ramp up the editing, don’t know what blocking really can accomplish, overpower their surfaces with Zimmer-droning…
Movies really were so much better during the 70‘s.
I remember watching an interview with Pollack about how he approached adapting books into screenplays and he said “Well, for instance, the movie I made 3 Days of the Condor was based on a book called 6 Days of the Condor…”
My yearly tradition of A Christmas Story (1983). Perfect on every level. Not many movies can say that they capture a kid on Christmas (or learning life lessons) so well. A serious contender for my favorite movie. One of my biggest creative influences.
It’s a shame it wasn’t a big hit when it came out. I feel it should have won an Oscar nomination at least for Best Production Design. The details and accuracy of the 1940s in that movie are phenomenal. All this apart from the mum’s 80’s perm!
I just love the way it embraces the Christmas feeling. The Christmas morning scene is beautifully done. And that wonderful final shot of the parents sitting at the window watching the snow fall is just magical.
I saw Wonka last night for something to do. It was alright, probably 7/10, but not a patch on the 1971 original. Gene Wilder’s performance in that film is one of my all time favourites, and I don’t think giving this character a backstory benefits him. If you humanise Wonka too much I think it takes something away. This is a man who was flippant about naughty kids’ safety whenever they possibly met their demise. This is a man who was built up as a mysterious recluse before finally being revealed with his limp and somersault trick. Wonka’s a better film than I thought it would be, but still not something I’m totally on board with, or in a rush to see again.
For the first time in many years I was alone with Christmas.
The night before Christmas I watched “The Adventures of Robin Hood” with Errol Flynn.
Yesterday I wachted “Once Upon a Time in the West” and today “Zack Snyder’s Justice League”. Yeah, I know, but I’m probably the only one here who likes most of his movies, especially his director cuts (or ultimate cuts, or whatever it’s called).
Hopefully your choices brought you some cheer on what must have been a difficult holiday. As “feel good movies” go, The Adventures of Robin Hood is hard to beat, and Once Upon a Time in the West is a great one to lose yourself in for an entire afternoon. I never saw the appeal of anything from the Snyderverse, but it’s what you like that counts.
I caught up with a couple of this year’s hits: The Super Mario Brothers Movie and Barbie. Both were fun enough distractions, though I’m not sure how they ended up the Top Two moneymakers of 2023. Considering the film mentioned here that I like best comes from 1938, I think I’ve definitely passed some sort of milepost into official Old Age.
Plus fencing scenes masterminded by Fred Cavens, the phenomenal archery of Howard Hill, able comic relief from Alan Hale and Eugene Pallette and a guest appearance by Trigger the Golden Palomino…all perfectly paced with never a dull moment. It’s a definite contender for my favorite film of all time.
I still remember how I felt when I saw it for the first time: the shadows on the staircase, the archery competition, and one of the greatest scores of all time. Korngold said his scores were operas without singing, and the way the music merges with the images is amazing.
You guys all received likes from me. Reading so much praise about the movie that has the honor of being my Number One desert island movie really warms my heart. Reminds me that this year was one of the rare occasions that I didn’t watch it on Christmas. Shame on me
Going to make a triple feature on New Year’s:
Prince Valiant – Ivanhoe – The Adventures of Robin Hood
This one’s not pink (nor strictly speaking a necktie) but it’s an approximation, and very short, and worn over a turtleneck, which has to count for something…
I’ve made it a sort of tradition to watch old-fashioned adventure films during my Christmas holidays. I always watch the same films and always in the same order and I have been doing that for about fifteen years now.
I always start with Danny Kay in The Court Jester, then The Adventures of Robin Hood, Scaramouche with Stewart Granger, The Three Musketeers with Gene Kelly, La Tulipe Noire with Alain Delon, The Count of Monte Cristo with Richard Chamberlain and also in The Man in the Iron Mask and finally The Prisoner of Zenda and there I have two films, the black and white version with Ronald Colman and the version with Stewart Granger, both films are good, but I think the first version is even better.
This evening I’m gonna watch La Tulipe Noir.
