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What Was The Last Movie You Watched?

Matt Crunk

One Too Many
Messages
1,029
Location
Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Just watched The Asphalt Jungle on DVD from my Warner Bros. Film Noir Collection box set (Volume 1). I'd seen it before in bits and pieces but this was the first time I'd watched it uninterrupted. I actually watched it twice in a row, the second time around with commentary. A great film. I like it much better now than I remembered from the parts I'd seen before. The realism and depth of character development in that film was remarkable for the time it was made. Even though this was not technically a "B Picture" and they were able to use more expensive "A Picture" sets, the cinematographer still chose to light it like a B-film, with low-key lighting normally used to cover up the shortcomings of cheap sets. The result is a very beautiful and moody noir.

th


th
 
Messages
17,220
Location
New York City
Just watched The Asphalt Jungle on DVD from my Warner Bros. Film Noir Collection box set (Volume 1). I'd seen it before in bits and pieces but this was the first time I'd watched it uninterrupted. I actually watched it twice in a row, the second time around with commentary. A great film. I like it much better now than I remembered from the parts I'd seen before. The realism and depth of character development in that film was remarkable for the time it was made. Even though this was not technically a "B Picture" and they were able to use more expensive "A Picture" sets, the cinematographer still chose to light it like a B-film, with low-key lighting normally used to cover up the shortcomings of cheap sets. The result is a very beautiful and moody noir.]

I love the cinematography of this movie - as you said, lit like a B-film noir, but with strong sets. It is one of those movies whose story is good (some very good lines), but not great, but I can enjoy repeated viewings because it is visually beautiful in its black and white, noir glory.
 

Wally_Hood

One Too Many
Messages
1,772
Location
Screwy, bally hooey Hollywood
House of Bamboo (1955) starring Robert Ryan and Robert Stack amongst others. Filmed in Cinemascope with color by De Luxe. Pretty good movie.

house-of-bamboo-poster.jpg


- Ian

If you can get a DVD with the commentary, listen to it. There's a lot of subtext stuff in there, and they point out some of the weirder plot points (i.e., Ryan explaining a well-orchestrated heist with pool cues laid out for streets, instead of a detailed map)
 
Messages
12,734
Location
Northern California
21 Jumpstreet.

Silly. Funny. lol

My students found it to be incredibly funny and convinced me to watch it, but I found it to be only so-so on the funny. The second time I viewed it, I found it to be much moreso on the funny. The same can be said for Horrible Bosses and The Other Guys (super funny).
:D
 
Messages
12,018
Location
East of Los Angeles
They Drive by Night (1940). Decent story, and quite a few interesting hats and vehicles to look at. Even in a supporting role to George Raft's lead, it was obvious to me that Bogart had that "star quality" even if he wasn't the best looking guy on screen.

High Sierra (1941). I liked it, but the story's a bit of a mess. I thought the subplot involving Roy Earle (Bogart) and Ma (Elisabeth Risdon), Pa (Henry Travers), and Velma (Joan Leslie) was unnecessary and wasn't a particularly good fit with the main plot; it's as though Warner Brothers had two half-finished scripts and decided to interweave them.
 

Gregg Axley

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,125
Location
Tennessee
My students found it to be incredibly funny and convinced me to watch it, but I found it to be only so-so on the funny. The second time I viewed it, I found it to be much moreso on the funny. The same can be said for Horrible Bosses and The Other Guys (super funny).
:D
[video=youtube;Tks28Az5lzk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tks28Az5lzk[/video]

I like The Other Guys, but my wife only viewed it once. Ferrell's character was down right funny! It was also interesting to see Wahlburg in a somewhat comedic role. The humor could have been cleaned up a bit though, such as the homeless stating what they were going to do in Ferrell's Prius. BTW the last scenes of the movie, where the Prius is shooting through town at a high speed, is Hollyweird magic. The Prius has 2 engines, well 3 to be technical. The extra non-Toyota engine is in the hatch, which explains why the car could fishtail and smoke the rear tires. From what I read, the fumes were killing the actors and it was incredibly loud inside due to the high revs. Still funny to see a Prius go that fast and fishtail. :D

They Drive By Night is a good movie. Also try He Walked By Night, a film noir thriller from what I remember.
 
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