Comments | tilly_stratford: Monochromatic adoration

tilly_stratford

Monochromatic adoration

Nov 21, 2009 13:15

I'm always a bit taken back when people tell me they "don't watch black and white movies". To me that makes as much sense as saying "I don't listen to music recorded in mono" - it's basing your enjoyment of something beautiful on something as random as technological development ( Read more... )

pic spams, old movies, silent movies, squeeage, rambling: movies, geekery

Comments 9

_grayswandir_ November 21 2009, 13:57:57 UTC

Not reading all of these, since I don't want spoilers for the ones I haven't seen, but I'll have to try to remember them. A few of them I've been meaning to see anyway (Pygmalion, in particular).

I'm a little surprised to see Duck Soup on here -- I guess it must be one of the Marx Brothers' most famous movies, since it's the one I seem to see for sale/rent everywhere, but personally I like both A Day at the Races and A Night at the Opera better. But I do love Duck Soup too -- in fact I've yet to see anything by the Marx Brothers that I didn't love. :D I agree with you that they had a wonderful range, and could handle everything from slapstick to wit to magnificent harp-playing with equal facility. I read in a biography that Chaplin once said he envied Groucho for his verbal talent as a comic; Chaplin was a great physical comedian, but didn't think he had the knack for telling jokes, and I have to agree that they certainly weren't his strong suit (though I love The Great Dictator anyway). But I also gather that Groucho ( ... )

tilly_stratford November 21 2009, 19:14:43 UTC

Oh I was trying not to spoiler anything, but as you say it can be pretty counterproductive to tell people "OMG THIS IS THE BEST MOVIE EVAAAAR" when they haven't seen it. I guess I got a bit carried away.

I still haven't succeeded in tracking down A day at the races so I can't comment on it, but I've seen many others and you're right, they're all great - though I'm not fond of the "sticking in a love story just for the sake of a love story" schtick, like you find in A night at the opera. Just for that I like Duck soup just a little bit more, though it's really time I rewatched A night at the opera - I might well be a bit kinder on a second viewing.

But I also gather that Groucho considered Chaplin's films the highest form of comedic art, so at least their feelings of regard were mutual. :)

THINGS LIKE THAT ARE SO CUTE. The mutual respect and admiration, it makes me all fuzzy inside :)))

As for Casablanca, I see where you're coming from - I guess it is pretty damaging to keep voting movies "the best one ever". As for my sake I guess ( ... )

_grayswandir_ November 21 2009, 22:29:31 UTC

though I'm not fond of the "sticking in a love story just for the sake of a love story" schtick, like you find in A night at the opera.

Good point, I'd kind of forgotten about that. (That's one of those things I think they're even worse about in modern films -- at least there are some old films that don't try to pair up some couple; nowadays there's, like, nothing.) I'm also not fond of movies where they stick in a lot of gratuitous singing, which is one reason Duck Soup sort of bugs me. Of course A Night at the Opera has lots of singing, but at least it's relevant, since, you know, opera. My sister tells me there's singing in A Day at the Races, too, but I thought there wasn't... it's been probably ten years since I've seen it, though, so I probably need to watch it (and the rest of them, for that matter) again.

As for my sake I guess I'm so amazed at what a great little drama they managed to create with a low budget, a handful of actors, three or so sets and just the question of "will he or won't he?"

See, that makes it more ( ... )

freyalorelei November 21 2009, 21:50:20 UTC

Yeah...the reason Some Like It Hot was filmed in black and white? The makeup they used on Curtis and Lemmon made them look green. Just enough colour footage was shot before someone noticed how terrible the makeup looked and it was transferred to monochromatic before production was finished. Reportedly Monroe was quite upset over this and lobbied for it to be made in colour (since her most successful films were in colour), but was overruled.

tilly_stratford November 22 2009, 13:25:46 UTC

Ooh I love trivia like that, thanks for telling me :D

trinity_destler November 25 2009, 18:12:26 UTC

My Fair Lady (and all subsequent stage productions of both the play and the show) also owes a huge debt to Pygmalion because the ambiguous-but-happy ending we're all familiar with originated with the film. George Bernard Shaw hated that people were shipping Higgins/Eliza and wrote an epilogue where she tells him off again and marries Freddy. No one ever performs this version. ;)

On the subject of Leslie Howard, have you seen The Scarlet Pimpernel? It made him my favourite actor and it's just a great movie.

/wandered in from F!S and found you have amazing taste

tilly_stratford November 25 2009, 18:40:26 UTC

Obviously you have amazing taste as well! The Scarlet Pimpernel is one of my all-time favourites (oh I wish Criterion or somesuch could release a high-quality version one of these days)!

I'd heard some whispers of an alternative Pygmalion-ending, but I didn't know it was so definite! Yeah, I'm sticking to the ambiguous version :P

trinity_destler November 25 2009, 19:41:37 UTC

From your keys to Criterion's ears. All I have is the cheapo Triple Feature DVD and the film's in pretty rough shape. I'd shell out a lot of money I don't have for a restoration from them. I love that movie so.

Most people do ;P

Henry vs Freddy grannygrump42 January 7 2010, 23:26:29 UTC

I hate "My Fair Lady" specifically because Henry treats Eliza like dirt, Freddy treats her like a treasure, and she goes for -- Henry. The emotionally abusive jerk.