15 Film I Must Own - Pt 3

Least I forget some foreign favorites:

11) Amarcord (1973) – Fellini, Fellini, Fellini! How could I pull up a list of “must-haves” with at least one! (I own over a half dozen btw) When I recently upgraded to a Blu-Ray player this was the second disc I upgraded (see the next entry for the first)! This heartfelt memoir of the filmmaker’s hometown and family is so charming and affecting I dare anyone to say it isn’t the Maestro’s masterpiece. His meticulous recreation of place, his synthetic imagination, the music, the characters… How can you argue against it? Magali Noël, is ageless as the eternal Grandisca, Pupella Maggio and Armando Brancia as the filmmaker’s mother and father and the gorgeous Bruno Zanin, make Fellini’s past gorgeous, impeccable and heartfelt! A masterpiece!!

12) Topsy-Turvy (1999) – Mike Leigh is without doubt the renaissance of English Cinema. I have been watching this director for some time and I knew I had to include a film by him. My gut instinct was to go with “Secrets and Lies”, with Brenda Blethyn, Timothy Spall and Marianne Jean-Baptiste. But when I go to my DVD library, the very first film I updated to Blu-Ray was Leigh’s “Topsy-Turvy”. Leigh is an actors’ director if ever there was one. Most of his work is placed in the present or near distant past, so to undertake a serious piece of historical drama for this filmmaker was unconventional, at least. This amazing piece of history re-creates the moment in time when W. S. Gilbert (Jim Broadbent) and Sir Arthur Sullivan IAllan Corduner) come to a crossroads in their collaboration only to overcome the obstacles and produce, perhaps, their most endearing work, The Mikado. Period detail, incisive performances and love of the music helps the director to produce a monument to a faded empire. Hats off to the two stars as well as Leslie Manville as Gilbert’s stifled wife and Shirley Henderson.

13) Mon Oncle (1972) Of all the French masters, Jacque Tati is France’s pre-eminent director. A French Hitchcock with a comic bent and Welles’ misfortune. My early film memories have Tati tattooed all over them. It doesn’t really matter what “version” of this film you see (there was an “International” edition in the States), it’s a true synthesis of mise en scene. What the characters say is unimportant, the humor plays out on a simple pantomime level, but also rises above mere physical comedy to social commentary through its longing for a France that was rapidly disappearing. Mr. Hulot’s relatives and their comically cold house are consuming the land that Tati loves (by the time that Tati made “Playtime” Paris is a memory reflected in windows). Gorgeously shot and played it, it has some of the best performances by dogs in a film in the 20th Century!

14) Russian Ark (2002) – A technical marvel and a monument to a people and a culture that I will never see in my lifetime. Aleksandr Sokurov’s journey through time, space, and Russia’s Winter Palace and Hermitage is a testament to the long rich history of the country. With over 2000 actors and three orchestras, this seamless 100 minute journey was shot in one take over a 36 hour period (it took three tries to complete the film), utilizes historical characters that mingle with those in other eras and well as current times. The cinematography by Tilman Büttman is seamless, dizzying at moments, and allows the majesty of the building to unfold before the viewers eyes kaleidoscopicall! I’m sure serious Russian aficionados might find flaw in it, but I continue to find this film stunning. Do NOT miss the last twenty minutes of this film: they are luscious, amazing and unforgettable.

15) Grey Gardens (1975) – The Maysles Brothers (along with Ellen Hovde and Muffie Meyer) created an epic documentary when they wandered into the lives of two women, Edith Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edith (aka Little Edie). A study of a mother and daughter, famous and infamous, once high in society, by the mid-70’s forgotten by most everyone. Though shot on a “documentary budget” this little film provides more drama and “real life” than any Hollywood creation. Frightening, hilarious, sad and scary, the mother and daughter open up to the camera with a heartfelt desperation at real “actor” can only hope to achieve. A horrid musical and 2009 film adaptation by HBO pay poor homage to this steely eyed look into an American window. Perhaps the echt-reality show, it will always make you feel better about your life after watching it.

15 Films I Must Own – part 2

I know I dwelt on the comedies in my first installment so I will try and sober up in this next installment:

6) Hobson’s Choice (1954) – David Lean co-wrote and directed his adaptation of a popular stage play about the eldest spinster daughter (Brenda de Banzie) of a Sulford boot merchant, Henry Hobson (Charles Laughton) and her marriage to the shop’s boot hand, William Mossop (John Mills). Lean went on to produce some of cinema’s most lush, epic films but you can already see his great sense of place in this charming tale set in Manchester. Laughton delivers a truly great screen performance of the inebriate Hobson, Mills is endearingly charming as Mossop but the day goes to de Banzie. Maggie Hobson is a strong, smart, business-minded, unapologetic woman who makes good for herself and those around her. It’s a proto-feminist tale done deftly with style and charm.

7) Stage Fright (1950) – Hitchcock supposedly felt he let down his audience by presenting a lie as a flashback. Given time and taste many have come to love this fact about it. I find it to be one of the master’s most synthetic works; the juxtaposition of “real life” versus “theatrics” constantly turns in on itself as this murder mystery plays out. All the Hitchcock bits are here (the camera following a character off the street and into a house, rear projection, his cameo) plus he had a cast that could breathe life into the material. Marlene Dietrich is pretty much Dietrich and I’m sure her fastidiousness worked well with his. He had his blank-slate leading lady in Jane Wyman (who does some of the best “back acting” in cinema history) but filled the gapes with English staples Alistair Sim and Sybil Thorndike (a disarmingly funny cameo by Joyce Grenfell). It’s a lovely balance of mystery, comedy and romance that I never fail to enjoy.

8) A Streetcar Named Desire (1972) – I’ve always depended on the kindness of Streetcar! Whenever I’m feeling down, nothing makes me feel better than watching Blanche DuBois (Vivian Leigh) and Stanley Kowalski (Marlon Brando) go at it. It’s not just the “fact” that my life is sooo much better than theirs, but every time I return to this movie I find these two gigantic performances fresh and engrossing. They are like to tops battling it out on a schoolyard: the forces that drive them together, the whine and the whirr and someone’s ultimate defeat. Kazan was wise to open this stage play just enough while remaining true the basic plot (Tennessee Williams’ film adaptations were often watered down by Hollywood due to their sexual content). Beautifully photographed by Harry Stradling, Jr. and scored by effectively by Alex North, this movie reaped four Academy Awards.

9) A Lion in Winter (1968) – As dysfunctional then as they are now, the English royals never cease to provide excellent entertainment. Peter O’Toole and Katherine Hepburn reign as Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine in James Goldman’s adaptation of his stage play. Though from very different schools of acting, these two create sparks as they thrust and parry their way through this unconventional holiday drama. Director Anthony Harvey does an adequate job of keeping this topsy-turvy tale on track but he has a hard time keeping up with his stars and his location (the film was shot on location in France and Ireland). Hepburn snagged her 4th Oscar for this film. It’s also first film appearances by Anthony Hopkins and Timothy Dalton, as Richard and Phillip II, respectively, two powerful men with a rather close past! I wonder if you wonder why I chose it?

10) Nashville (1975) – I remember seeing this film with my father in Philly when it first came out. I had never seen anything quite like it then and haven’t seen anything quite like it since. Robert Altman is the ultimate American film auteur; his style is unique, the aural quality lush and, whether or not the film has succeeded, you were taken on a unique journey. This film finds Altman in the right place at the right time and holds up a mirror to America that is still relevant and a little scary. Politics, religion and pop culture converge and collide (literally) in an American industry capital Drama plays out large and small with a stunning cast that includes Lily Tomlin, Henry Gibson, Altman muse Shelley Duvall, Geraldine Chaplin, a hilarious Barbara Harris and a silent Jeff Goldblum. The music sung is original and written by cast members, as well as others including Gary Busey. And the opening K-Tel credits are a hoot!

Up next, we go overseas…..