Does anyone here like old movies?

[Double Switch]

The reason I ask is that I haven't bothered to watch any new movies (by that I mean pretty much everything made in the 21st century, which is entering its 20th year soon). I'm just not into CGI and explosions as plot devices.



I could be called a retrograde movie fan because I would more love to discuss film noir than movies that are bioflicks or remakes of earlier hits. As an example, I would never bother to watch a remake of The Manchurian Candidate or Psycho because the originals were excellent. I see no reason to revisit them as if they were not already perfection.



I quit the Star Wars franchise after the third one. That was enough for me. I truly have no idea how many there are now and would need to look that up. And, everyone following this franchise now, in drooling anticipation of the next iteration, likely were not around for the very first of these movies (1977). Please tell me I'm wrong.



But - that's just me. Maybe I am alone in my reverence of The Big Sleep and The Philadelphia Story and Dodsworth. And Eraserhead. Surely in a crowd this size, there must be at least one fan besides myself of Eraserhead.



At the moment I am about to start watching The Elephant Man, the movie that came after Eraserhead and made David Lynch, if not a household word, at least a blip on the radar of serious movie goers.

[Ceetar]

Frozen 2 was lots of fun.

[Edgy MD]

I'm a member of a pre-code appreciation society on Facebook. My favorite movie changes a lot, but it's probably never going to be a 21st century film, unless maybe Wall-E.

[dinosaur jesus]

I like old movies. Noir, thirties screwball, early seventies, silent comedy, German expressionist, French thirties noir (Jean Gabin is the man), whatever. I wrote a song once about the look on Burt Lancaster's face in Criss Cross when he comes back to the old nightclub after a stretch in prison, hoping to see Yvonne De Carlo and hoping not to see her, and spots her coming in with Dan Duryea. The chorus goes



Yvonne De Carlo

Yvonne De Carlo

Yvonne De Carlo

Yvonne De Carlo



I never actually wrote the verses.



I basically stopped watching movies, even on TV, about ten years ago. The wife doesn't really understand movies, and I have trouble concentrating for an hour or two. But I used to watch a lot, and they're all still in there somewhere.



The Elephant Man is great. "I am not an animal."

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

I hardly ever go to the movies anymore but I do like movies. But we just moved within walking distance of a googleplex and we're considering buying a pass, at least for the 'Pail.



Unlimited flix,10% discount on concessions with the app for $18 a month. That would pay for itself with 2 visits a month. Wouldya?



Apropos of the subject I also like old movies. When you see one, especially a good one, even if its old, start a poll on it here.

[Ceetar]

Different time in my life I'd be all over that pass. Actually, even if I was still at my previous job, which was right next to a theater. I'd go see half the movie for lunch, and time it so I could see the second half the next day.



Any blackouts on that though? nights/first 5nights/imax? etc



Now I'm more likely to see Frozen 2 than Star Wars. (I'll bootleg that and watch it on my own at home)

[Edgy MD]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: When you see one, especially a good one, even if its old, start a poll on it here.

Or even if you're just thinking about one.



Anybody see the movie about the South Korean girl with the massive genetically enhanced pig?

[Vic Sage]

Double Switch wrote: The reason I ask is that I haven't bothered to watch any new movies (by that I mean pretty much everything made in the 21st century, which is entering its 20th year soon). I'm just not into CGI and explosions as plot devices. I could be called a retrograde movie fan because I would more love to discuss film noir than movies that are bioflicks or remakes of earlier hits. As an example, I would never bother to watch a remake of The Manchurian Candidate or Psycho because the originals were excellent. I see no reason to revisit them as if they were not already perfection. I quit the Star Wars franchise after the third one. That was enough for me. I truly have no idea how many there are now and would need to look that up. And, everyone following this franchise now, in drooling anticipation of the next iteration, likely were not around for the very first of these movies (1977). Please tell me I'm wrong. But - that's just me. Maybe I am alone in my reverence of The Big Sleep and The Philadelphia Story and Dodsworth. And Eraserhead. Surely in a crowd this size, there must be at least one fan besides myself of Eraserhead. At the moment I am about to start watching The Elephant Man, the movie that came after Eraserhead and made David Lynch, if not a household word, at least a blip on the radar of serious movie goers.

I used to have a 16mm print of ERASERHEAD and showed it at parties I hosted with my roommate (this was in the 1980s). "In heaven, everything is fine..." I used it, like i used Frank Zappa, to see which girls would like it, so i could ask them out.



I watch everything and anything. old, new, borrowed, blue; s'all good.

[Double Switch]

Edgy MD wrote: Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: When you see one, especially a good one, even if its old, start a poll on it here. Or even if you're just thinking about one. Anybody see the movie about the South Korean girl with the massive genetically enhanced pig?

Thanks for all these thoughts above and here. I also don't attend movies in theaters due to how loud they are played (at least where I live) and that it seems no one can watch a movie without their cellphone on and that's distracting, too. The other thing is my attention span also has shortened. Maybe that's why I drifted back to old movies, many of which are in the 90 minute range. Knowing now how long The Irishman is, I'll wait until I can watch it in smaller doses.



Until sometime in October, I had TCM as part of my cable package until it got hijacked. Then I realized that was my primary channel and DVRing was my #1 activity. Now gone. I still have The Caine Mutiny to watch plus needing to rewatch Eraserhead again (I finally noticed the pile of dirt on Henry's table so more scrutiny is needed). I'd end my DVR level but that would mean not being able to record Grand Sumo on NHK so that will wait a while (yes, I know I can watch that on YouTube but I still like it on the living room tv (I don't have the means yet to watch YouTube on that tv). The other thing is Better Call Saul season 5 will start in a few months and I want to FF through the commercials. Now I will mostly borrow movies from my city library system and also watch what is available on Amazon Prime.



I looked up https://www.npr.org/2017/06/27/534554318/in-ambitious-okja-a-teen-attempts-to-save-her-super-pig-from-slaughterOkja and will see if I can get it locally. I'd not heard of Bong Joon-ho and appreciate you mentioning this.



Polls: OK, I'll think about that and maybe do one about Japanese movies. I don't know as many French movies but have to say Diabolique (1955 - Clouzot) is pretty much at the top of that list.

[cal sharpie]

I love old movies and pretty much keep TCM on as the start-channel.



OKJA was good but PARASITE, currently in theaters, is better.

[Vic Sage]

best Japanese movies:

1) everything by Kurasawa

2) everything else

[Guest 41Forever]

My wife loved TCM, and is really frustrated it was removed. Technically, you can get it back with a sports package for $9.99 a month and I'm not sure how it fits with sports. And since I buy the Mets television thing, I don't really need the rest of the sports.

[LWFS]

Okja WAS good, as was The Host (and, for that matter, Snowpiercer). Haven't yet seen Parasite, but I wanna.



More to the point of the thread, though... hey, Double Switch/41Forever/lovers of the good old stuff:



https://www.criterionchannel.com/The Criterion Channel

[Double Switch]

Thanks - I had no idea, which is why I signed onto this board. There are a lot of people here with great ideas I'd otherwise miss out on. Briefly checking it out, it looks well worth the $99.99 annual fee. I'll be starting my free trial later tonight.

[MFS62]

I love the black and white movies of the 30-50s - Sherlock Holmes, Boston Blackie, Charlie Chan, Orson Wells, Fred and Ginger, and those wonderful movies my friends and I called "BWPs" (British War Pictures, but I include Ginga Din in that category). I also liked the monster flicks; the hokey ones (Creature from the Black Lagoon, It Came From Beneath the Sea, The Blob) and the classic ones (Frankenstein, Dracula, King Kong) and the serials (Don Winslow of the Navy, Flash Gordon, Tim Tyler's Luck and Gene Autry's Radio Ranch.

I loved TCM and scan the listings for the other cable channels to see when they might be on.

Later

[Double Switch]

Vic Sage wrote: best Japanese movies: 1) everything by Kurasawa 2) everything else

I'm thinking about creating a Kurosawa poll but am considering doing it in segments (prior to Mifune, with Mifune, after Mifune, color v. b/w) so there are ways to go there. Also, I want to feature a poll regarding my other favorite Japanese director, Yasujiro Ozu, but I suspect not as many will be familiar with his work.



Anyone wanting to jump in before I get to it will have my full enthusiastic support.

[Edgy MD]

Yeah, a poll couldn't handle Kurosawa. He deserves the spectacular head-to-head matchup of an elimination tournament.

[whippoorwill]

Olivia deHaviland movies! I love her!

[Edgy MD]

Ms. de Havilland is still kicking it at 103.

[whippoorwill]

Really? Wow

[Vic Sage]

Edgy MD wrote: Yeah, a poll couldn't handle Kurosawa. He deserves the spectacular head-to-head matchup of an elimination tournament.

Kurosawa wrote and directed around 30 films, but 24 of them were after the war and were free of studio interference. He considers Drunken Angel (48) his first real film, so I've broken down the 24 remaining films into 3 brackets (early Mifune, late Mifune, and no Mifune). The highest seed of the bracket winners gets a bye into the finals to face the winner of the other 2 brackets.



Here you go:



Bracket 1 (Early Mifune)

1- 7 Samurai (54) vs 8- Quiet Duel (49)

2- Rashomon (50) vs 7- Scandal (50)

3- Drunken Angel (48) vs 6- The Idiot (51)

4- Stray Dog (49) vs 5- I Live in Fear (55)



Bracket 2 (Late Mifune)

1- Yojimbo (61) vs 8- Lower Depths (57)

2- Throne of Blood (57) vs 7- Red Beard (65)

3- High & Low (63) vs 6- Bad Sleep Well (60)

4- Hidden Fortress (58) vs 5- Sanjuro (62)



Bracket 3 (No Mifune):

1- Ikiru (52) vs 8- Rhapsody in August (91)

2- Ran (85) vs 7- Do-Deska-Den (70)

3- Dersu Uzala (75) vs 6- Dreams (90)

4- Kagemusha (80) vs 5- Maadayo (93)



7 samurai would and should win, but Rashomon could give it a bit of a test in Bracket 1. Bracket 2 is the deepest, with samurai lovers choosing between Yojimbo and Sanjuro, classicists going for Throne of Blood (i.e., MacBeth), star wars fans going for Hidden Fortress, and cinephilic appreciation going High & Low. Bracket 3 is surprisingly strong, with critics pick Ikiru going up against the Lear epic, Ran, the Lucas/spielberg fave, Kagemusha. and the Russian dark horse, Dersu Uzala.



The chalk says 7 samurai takes a bye, waiting for Yojimbo to beat Ikiru, leading to a battle of Mifune ronin, with the Magnificent 7 defeating Fistful of Dollars in the finale. But, there are always upsets, so anything could happen.

[Double Switch]

There is another bracket: Early Kurosawa sans Mifune that includes Sugata Sanshiro 1 & 2 (when his leading man was Susumu Fujita, who makes an appearance as the cowardly sword master in Yojimbo), They Who Tread Upon the Tiger's Tail, The Most Beautiful, and One Wonderful Sunday. I feel like I'm forgetting something.



It would be harder to find Kurosawa movies without Takashi Shimura (21). The rap on AK was that he avoided strong women characters but that's silly. He used Isuzu Yamada in The Lower Depths, Throne of Blood (best ever Lady Macbeth), and Yojimbo as the scariest, strongest bitches ever. Also, Princess Yuki in The Hidden Fortress is Princess Leia through and through. Don't forget Mieko Harada as Lady Kaede in Ran.



I think pairing Dodes'kaden against Dreams makes more sense but I don't know what the rules are. Dersu Uzala stands alone.



There are a few I have not seen: Scandal and The Idiot, I think, and Sugata Sanshiro 2. At the moment, my DVD library includes Ikiru, The Lower Depths, Rashomon, Sanjuro, Yojimbo, Kagemusha, Ran, The Hidden Fortress and Seven Samurai. Back in the VHS days, I had a few more that I did not replace when LVD took over, and when laser rot ruined my disks and I switched to DVD, I did not reacquire everything. I want another copy of High & Low but the price is not right and I can get it from the library when I want another view.



If this were a "desert isle" 5 list, I'd take Rashomon, High & Low, Ikiru, The Lower Depths, and Yojimbo.

[dinosaur jesus]

This is awesome. I wish I'd seen more Kurosawa. I have seen the remake of Rashomon with William Shatner, though.

[LWFS]

Edgy MD wrote: Ms. de Havilland is still kicking it at 103.

It's, like, a once-or-twice-a-year thing with my wife and me where we're home on a mutual off day, and the topic of older films/stars comes up, and we double-check on de Havilland, because our brains are aging, and we weren't all that smart to begin with. (Maureen O'Hara used to be part of this, until the other year. Hedy Lamarr's science pursuits usually come up, too.)

[Edgy MD]

Double Switch wrote: There is another bracket: Early Kurosawa sans Mifune that includes Sugata Sanshiro 1 & 2 (when his leading man was Susumu Fujita, who makes an appearance as the cowardly sword master in Yojimbo), They Who Tread Upon the Tiger's Tail, The Most Beautiful, and One Wonderful Sunday. I feel like I'm forgetting something.

Susumu Fujita : Toshiro Mifune :: George O'Brien : John Wayne

[Vic Sage]

the early bracket would have 7 films:



1- No Regrets For our Youth (46) vs 8- [bYE]

2- Sanshiro Sugata (43) vs 7-Those Who Make Tomorrow (46)

3- Man Who tread on Tiger's Tail (45) vs 6- Sanshiro Sugata, Pt.2 (45)

4- One Wonderful Sunday (47) vs 5- Most Beautiful (44)



but as i said, these were studio films that Kurosawa didn't have complete control over, and some were produced during the war; he considers DRUNKEN ANGEL to be the first film that was completely his.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Kirk Douglas is also 103 years old.

[Double Switch]

Vic Sage wrote: the early bracket would have 7 films: 1- No Regrets For our Youth (46) vs 8- [bYE] 2- Sanshiro Sugata (43) vs 7-Those Who Make Tomorrow (46) 3- Man Who tread on Tiger's Tail (45) vs 6- Sanshiro Sugata, Pt.2 (45) 4- One Wonderful Sunday (47) vs 5- Most Beautiful (44) but as i said, these were studio films that Kurosawa didn't have complete control over, and some were produced during the war; he considers DRUNKEN ANGEL to be the first film that was completely his.

Yeah, I confess I did not read your preface before looking at your lists. The caveat could be that who knew when AK would have autonomy and he had to toe the company line a while - betting he had no clue either. Would you tell me where those numbers come from?



Yes, the one I forgot was No Regrets for our Youth. And, I could have looked that up and did not.

[Edgy MD]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Kirk Douglas is also 103 years old.

We've GOT to get these kids together.



(Except, Mrs. Douglas is still going strong at 100 herself.)

[Vic Sage]

Double Switch wrote: Would you tell me where those numbers come from?

i found a website that ranked all of Kurosawa's films as an aggregate of IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, etc. Then i seeded them in each bracket accordingly, with slight tweaks based on my own assessments.