A wonderful list! I'm going to seek out April, April, especially since I have enjoyed several Douglas Sirk movies during the past year. You have also inspired me to return to my own "What I Watched" posts. Keep up the great work!
Thanks a lot, Andy! His early German films are interesting to watch if available, aside from this one. I highly recommend if you enjoy his work. I enjoy these posts a lot, it s always great to read yours!
I enjoyed reading your film suggestions. The Spiritualist is one I've never heard of, and given that it has John Alton cinematography, I'm enthusiastic about watching. Interesting to find out that Douglas Sirk directed a Lubitsch-influenced romantic comedy; doubt I'll be watching it, as I'm in USA and being an English only speaker, don't enjoy watching films where I'd need to read sub-titles. The other films I've watched and enjoyed more than once. The Warner's ones show up on TCM frequently. And The Court Jester is well worth doing a paid streaming via YouTube or likely other streamers; it's one of the absolute funniest movies ever made.
An error you made, the 1958 western with Peck as a sea captain is The Big Country, not It's a Big Country. It's a favorite of mine, though I believe has mixed critical opinions. If you or your readers haven't seen it, it's available on YouTube for free. It's an entertaining, engrossing film just taking the story at face value. But it's also a plea for peaceful co-existance between rivals, a parable about the USA vs. USSR, and how intellegent people should rise above the dangerous, violent conflicts of egotistical, macho, tradition-bound rivals. Features one of the greatest western film scores of all time, a great performance by Burl Ives and good ones by the entire cast, and a well-written, intellegent script.
I agree on mostly everything but the resistance to watch films with subtitles. To think the amount of international films I have enjoyed because of that. Have you ever watched The Lives of Others (2006)? I believe it's one of the finest films ever made in this century which I thoroughly enjoy in its original German version.
I appreciate your pointing this out, I always call it that way because of the dialogue of the film. I will correct that at once. I am not sure it has mixed opinions, at least from Europe it is regarded as one of the finest westerns and films of that period. Also a universally known film. I also don't exactly see the parable you mention but indeed the peaceful approach and the need for man to change their macho confrontational approach in life. William Wyler, as it was the case with George Stevens' Shane (1953), made very clear his view on violence and war.
How come you have no Substack yourself? You present yourself as an expert and a lover of classic films, why don't you write all these thoughts in your own blog?
Glad to receive your response to my response. I believe I read in the distant or fairly distant past about The Big Country having mixed critical reception, and that it was a parable about The Cold War. I'm in my early 70's and have been an avid studio era American film buff since my early 20's, so often I don't remember the specifics of where I read information or saw it in a documentary or interview with film industry participant or film historian.
I understand that I am missing some excellent and historically important films by not wanting to watch films with subtitles. I do watch foreign language films every once in awhile, and have enjoyed some. But with subtitled films where dialog is imporant and dense, I find it very distracting and enjoyment robbing.
I believe you are not a native English speaker, though you do write English quite well. And I hope you'll take this as a helpful suggestion. When you said "you present yourself as an expert" a better way to say that in a polite and friendly way would be "you describe yourself". Or "as an expert" (taking me at my word). The word "present" in this context has the connetation that the person presenting is making a questionable claim, may be bullshiting.
Glad that you are glad. Thank you for your compliments. I was well aware of the implications of using "you present yourself as". I wasn't trying to be friendly but to find a way to let you know, since you bring up the concept of politeness, that using a post written by another person to write your expert comments on films or to give lessons on using the right terms, is not courteous or considerate. I have seen it far too often and that is indeed bullshit. Specially when you only have 'Andrew' and no written pieces to prove your expertise. You already wrote in my previous post that you were an expert. Why the need to present yourself as that in someone else's corner? I mean every word I say and use them with intent. If you find that offensive, feel free to unsubscribe.
A wonderful list! I'm going to seek out April, April, especially since I have enjoyed several Douglas Sirk movies during the past year. You have also inspired me to return to my own "What I Watched" posts. Keep up the great work!
Thanks a lot, Andy! His early German films are interesting to watch if available, aside from this one. I highly recommend if you enjoy his work. I enjoy these posts a lot, it s always great to read yours!
April, April sounds great, will check it out!
I think it's quite difficult to access internationally but I hope it can be available at some point, if it isn't now. Thank you for reading!
Thanks for the links.
I'll start with Joan Crawford.
Good choice!
I enjoyed reading your film suggestions. The Spiritualist is one I've never heard of, and given that it has John Alton cinematography, I'm enthusiastic about watching. Interesting to find out that Douglas Sirk directed a Lubitsch-influenced romantic comedy; doubt I'll be watching it, as I'm in USA and being an English only speaker, don't enjoy watching films where I'd need to read sub-titles. The other films I've watched and enjoyed more than once. The Warner's ones show up on TCM frequently. And The Court Jester is well worth doing a paid streaming via YouTube or likely other streamers; it's one of the absolute funniest movies ever made.
An error you made, the 1958 western with Peck as a sea captain is The Big Country, not It's a Big Country. It's a favorite of mine, though I believe has mixed critical opinions. If you or your readers haven't seen it, it's available on YouTube for free. It's an entertaining, engrossing film just taking the story at face value. But it's also a plea for peaceful co-existance between rivals, a parable about the USA vs. USSR, and how intellegent people should rise above the dangerous, violent conflicts of egotistical, macho, tradition-bound rivals. Features one of the greatest western film scores of all time, a great performance by Burl Ives and good ones by the entire cast, and a well-written, intellegent script.
I agree on mostly everything but the resistance to watch films with subtitles. To think the amount of international films I have enjoyed because of that. Have you ever watched The Lives of Others (2006)? I believe it's one of the finest films ever made in this century which I thoroughly enjoy in its original German version.
I appreciate your pointing this out, I always call it that way because of the dialogue of the film. I will correct that at once. I am not sure it has mixed opinions, at least from Europe it is regarded as one of the finest westerns and films of that period. Also a universally known film. I also don't exactly see the parable you mention but indeed the peaceful approach and the need for man to change their macho confrontational approach in life. William Wyler, as it was the case with George Stevens' Shane (1953), made very clear his view on violence and war.
How come you have no Substack yourself? You present yourself as an expert and a lover of classic films, why don't you write all these thoughts in your own blog?
Glad to receive your response to my response. I believe I read in the distant or fairly distant past about The Big Country having mixed critical reception, and that it was a parable about The Cold War. I'm in my early 70's and have been an avid studio era American film buff since my early 20's, so often I don't remember the specifics of where I read information or saw it in a documentary or interview with film industry participant or film historian.
I understand that I am missing some excellent and historically important films by not wanting to watch films with subtitles. I do watch foreign language films every once in awhile, and have enjoyed some. But with subtitled films where dialog is imporant and dense, I find it very distracting and enjoyment robbing.
I believe you are not a native English speaker, though you do write English quite well. And I hope you'll take this as a helpful suggestion. When you said "you present yourself as an expert" a better way to say that in a polite and friendly way would be "you describe yourself". Or "as an expert" (taking me at my word). The word "present" in this context has the connetation that the person presenting is making a questionable claim, may be bullshiting.
Glad that you are glad. Thank you for your compliments. I was well aware of the implications of using "you present yourself as". I wasn't trying to be friendly but to find a way to let you know, since you bring up the concept of politeness, that using a post written by another person to write your expert comments on films or to give lessons on using the right terms, is not courteous or considerate. I have seen it far too often and that is indeed bullshit. Specially when you only have 'Andrew' and no written pieces to prove your expertise. You already wrote in my previous post that you were an expert. Why the need to present yourself as that in someone else's corner? I mean every word I say and use them with intent. If you find that offensive, feel free to unsubscribe.