Vic Sage

for more in-depth analysis of the SF films of the 70s, i recommend this thread: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=8860

here's the thread where we discuss the relative qualities of EMPIRE & STAR WARS viewtopic.php?f=11&t=1972 My point was: the reason that critical opinion has evolved favoring EMPIRE over STAR WARS is that it is... (drum roll, please) ... (wait for it) ...a better movie. Yes, SW had the advantage of being new, for its time. It also had more stilted acting and dialogue, slow expositional sequences, and less impressive effects. EMPIRE uses a non-stop narrative structure, with 2 parallel story lines... one a long chase for the supporting characters (an outward journey, if you will), the other a journey INWARD for the hero... with a convergence at the climax. By moving more quickly, the film has less time to dwell on the wooden characterizations, and more action means less bad dialogue. The film also has a darker edge than the "gee whiz" nature of the 1st. EMPIRE's overriding problem is the one inherent to the middle chapter of any trilogy... it ends before achieving a satisfying climax (which has to wait till the final chapter). Since SW had to be self-contained (with no guarantee there'd ever be sequels), its heroic conclusion gives it a better payoff. EMPIRE holds up better, thus allowing critics time to get past the "fallacy of the new" which overvalues SW, and appreciate the superior story-telling going on in the sequel. Don't get me wrong... i loved SW. Saw it opening weekend at the Loew's Astor Plaza on 44th St in Times Square. When that massive ship came into view overhead, after the opening "Chapter IV" crawl, the place went nuts. and nothing is ever like that twice. But getting past the thrill of nostalgia and taking a hard look at the qualities of the 2 films side-by-side, it seems like no contest to me. and later: As a screenwriter, Lucas is an excellent director. And as a director, he's a terrific technician. He just sucks with words and actors.

did you see it in 3D? i did, at a rep house in NYC, like 20 years ago. It gave me a headache.

that's ok... me, i've never been able to get through MOBY DICK. We all have our cultural crosses to bear.

When Clint is asked to name his 5 favorites among his own directorial efforts, he names 6: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101013/ap_en_mo/us_film_five_most

thank you.

NxNW starting to pull away from REAR WINDOW...

well, when Charlie Clam said it was Henry VIII using an axe in a lover's quarrel, i saluted his historical consistency.

don't mind the moroseness of Vertigo so much. I just remember the plot as being flawed. But I'm the guy that walks away from Casablanca because Paul Henreid as Laszlo, an enemy of the Third Reich, is allowed to exist in Vichy France with all of the apparent freedom of the King of Siam. its not just moroseness... its tragedy. And walking away from CASABLANCA is inexusable. Flawed plots do not bother me overmuch. Or rather, if i like a film, i'll excuse logical plot flaws. And if i don't like a film, i can pick its plot apart with disgust. But plots are just story-telling mechanics, and they can work better or worse, but are generally not a cause for my liking or not liking a movie, which has so many other story-telling tools at its disposal.

themetfairy wrote: Not on this list for obvious reasons, but Mel Brooks' High Anxiety is a great spoof of and homage to Hitch. While certainly a spoof and a homage, its greatness is highly debatable.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: I can't get through Vertigo in one sitting. I'm aware of its stellar critical reputation, but I struggle to view it. I find it to be overly contrived, even for a movie. Maybe I'll give it another shot the next time I decide to watch a movie. What am I missing? What should I be focusing on? Your right, its a difficult film, tough on viewers. It's unusual in Hitch's ouevre because, rather than employing entertaining elements of suspense or horror, the film is a TRAGEDY of sexual obsession and psychological disfunction, with little comedy and few thrills to leaven the depraved goings on. In that way, its probably the most autobiographical and disturbing of his films, which is why it has a certain cache with critics, who see it, not just in isolation but in the context of the filmmaker's life and career. If you'll pardon an absurd comparision, VERTIGO is to his career as DUCK SOUP was to the Marx Bros, in that it is quintessential. In DUCK SOUP, the brothers dispensed entirely with the romantic subplots that always distracted from their looniness and its just pure Marxian insanity. It flopped but later earned a critical rep because of its "purity" of vision. Similarly, VERTIGO is, in many ways, the purest and most distilled version of Hitchcock's particular assortment of festishes, without the crowd pleasing veneer he usually slathered on. And the ending is a sucker punch to the solar plexus that knocks all the wind out of the viewer, with a searing tragic final image that makes everything else he ever did seem like doodling with an etch-a-sketch. That's why its my favorite. But your mileage may vary. For pure entertainment value, i might go with either REAR WINDOW or NxNW, which both are funnier and lighter, though with an appropriately unhealthy dose of Hitchockian sexual wackitude.

what is most remarkable to me was his consistency over a 50 year career. Even compared to other great filmmakers, he rarely had a fallow period, with relatively few flops (either commercial or critical failures) sprinkled out over the course of 1/2 century of films.

just you and me so far, WP.

Bernie was a notorious cocksman who destroyed his many marriages with infidelities, banging every starlet he could get his paws on. If he was gay, he did a formidable job of overcompensating.

doh

How big is that gun pointed at my head? .457 magnum ... biggest handgun known to man... been known to blow a man's head clean off. So you gotta ask yourself one question... you feelin lucky, punk?

which one is your favorite, from among this list? feel free to write in any others, as well.

lets find out!

selected filmography: Bernie Schwartz made over 100 movies, so one must sort through the dross -- Flesh and Fury (1952) - an early leading role as a deaf boxer packs a surprising punch. Houdini (1953) - biopic with wife Janet Leigh worked magic on his career. The Black Shield of Falworth (1954) - he came from da castle of his fadda. Trapeze (1956) - supporting role with Burt Lancaster, Tony really swings. Sweet Smell of Success (1957) - Burt teamup again... NY when it sizzles, baby! His best performance ever. The Vikings (1958) - Tony vs Kirk Douglas; epically dumb but fun The Defiant Ones (1958) - chainganger on the run, cuffed to Sidney Poitier, Oscar nominated, overrated "social message" movie The Perfect Furlough (1958) - fun little Blake Edwards rom-com with Mrs. Curtis Some Like It Hot (1959) - Billy Wilder's classic Operation Petticoat (1959) another Edwards comedy, with Cary Grant (who Curtis had just spoofed affectionately in SOME LIKE IT HOT) Spartacus (1960) - master Kubrick, Kirk Douglas, Lord Olivier and ... Tony Curtis? Which of these is not like the other? ("Eat the snails, Tony, eat the snails!") The Great Impostor (1961) - Curtis shows his range in this true story... The Outsider (1961) - ...and in this one, too; a tragic tale of the native american who raised he flag on Iwo Jima Taras Bulba (1962) - with Yul Brynner in absurd epic actioner... etceterah, etceterah, etceterah 40 Pounds of Trouble (1962) - a cute remake of "little miss marker"; he was no trouble at all Captain Newman, M.D. (1963) - Tony offers strong medicine in support of Dr. Peck Goodbye Charlie (1964) - Tony says hello to Debbie Reynolds in this Minelli-directed sex farce Sex and the Single Girl (1964) - quintessential swingin 60s sex comedy, with Natalie Wood The Great Race (1965) - on the fast track again with Blake Edwards' epic slapstick "Flinstones" (1965) - as the voice of Stony Curtis The Boston Strangler (1968) - Tony gives Oscar-worthy performance in this true story; his last great role "The Persuaders!" (1971�1972) - decent TV series with Roger Moore Curtis made movies and tv shows for another 35 years or so, but nothing worth mentioning (except the extraordinarily terrible BAD NEWS BEAR sequel to the sequel).

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Not sure exactly why, but I have a special fondness for Shadow of a Doubt. maybe cuz its really good? It was Hitch's own fave of his films, apparently.

it was like the 3rd bad news bears sequel... high suckage quotient

good choice.

the top one... its falling apart, but i still play it with my son once in a while.

15-week Hitch double feature series i should have scheduled when i ran my college film series: 1) serial killers: * The Lodger (1927) * Frenzy (1972) 2) The wrong men: * The 39 Steps (1935) * The Wrong Man (1956) 3) Train movies: * The Lady Vanishes (1938) * Strangers on a Train (1951) 4) compare & contrast: * The Man Who Knew too much (1934) * The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) 5) WWII * Foreign Correspondent (1940) * Saboteur (1942) 6) One set wonders: * Lifeboat (1944) * Rope (1948) 7) Light romance: * Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941) * To Catch a Thief (1955) 8) Bluebeards: * Suspicion (1941) * Shadow of a Doubt (1943) 9) Freudian nightmares: * Spellbound (1945) * Marnie (1964) 10) Cary Grant: * Notorious (1946) * North by Northwest (1959) 11) Grace Kelley: * Rear Window (1954) * Dial M for Murder (1954) 12) black comedies: * The Trouble with Harry (1955) * Family Plot (1976) 13) Hitch and the "method": * I Confess (1953) * Torn Curtain (1964) 14) horror films: * Psycho (1960) * The Birds (1963) 15) the wrong one won the Oscar: * Rebecca (1940) * Vertigo (1958)

he designed that silhouette of himself that appeared at the beginning of each episode. Between that, the "funeral march of a marionette" music, his deadpan, blackly funny delivery, and the macabre stories, i was totally hooked on that show. I later read his short story anthologies and magazine (he wasn't involved in these publishing efforts; he just licensed them his name, for marketing purposes), and i still have a boardgame from that time called "Alfred Hitchcock's `WHY' game". I didn't actually like his movies til i was much older