Gone with the Wind

Last night I got to see Gone with the Wind on the big screen in honor of its 85th anniversary and it was an amazing experience to see this epic movie presented as it was meant to be seen!  On the eve of the Civil War, the spoiled and petulant Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) thinks only of attending genteel parties at neighboring plantations and of catching the eye of the soft-spoken Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard).  Her life is forever changed when war is declared and when Ashley marries Melanie Hamilton (Olivia de Havilland).  Through sheer determination and force of will she does whatever it takes to survive the horrors of the war and keep Tara, her family's plantation, during the turbulent days of Reconstruction all while continuing to pine for Ashley.  However, she meets her match in the rakish blockade runner Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) and she eventually marries him despite the fact that she doesn't love him.  It takes a tragedy for Scarlett to realize that her love for Ashley was an illusion, just like life in the South before the war, and that Rhett is the one she truly loves.  She begs him for a reconciliation but he tells her that it is too late which prompts her to return to Tara which is the source of her strength.  While this movie is very problematic, especially how it romanticizes the Antebellum South as a time of chivalry with knights and their ladies fair and the portrayal of slaves as docile and content to be owned by their benevolent masters, I really love the underlying story about perseverance in the face of overwhelming odds (especially by a woman), the iconic performances of both Leigh and Gable, and the stunning cinematography (the wide shot of Scarlett walking among the Confederate dead and wounded and the silhouettes against the burning of Atlanta are breathtaking).  It was so much fun to see this with a crowd because there were cheers during all of the familiar quotes and applause at the end.  There is one more chance to see this as part of Fathom's Big Screen Classics series (go here for information and tickets) and I highly recommend it.

A Christmas Story

I love the movie A Christmas Story so it was really fun to see it on the big screen last night to commemorate its 40th Anniversary (this makes me feel old because I remember seeing it in the theater when it was first released).  During the week before Christmas in 1940, nine-year-old Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsley) desperately wants an official Red Ryder carbine action 200-shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time but his Mother (Melinda Dillon), the Old Man (Darren McGavin), his teacher Miss Shields (Tedde Moore), and even Santa Claus (Jeff Gillen) all tell him that he'll shoot his eye out!  There was a really big and boisterous crowd at my screening (one large family took up all of the other seats in my row so they adopted me as a member) and I loved hearing everyone laugh out loud at all the funny moments, especially when Ralphie and his friends are chased to and from school by Scut Farkus (Zach Ward) and Grover Dill (Yano Anaya), when Schwartz (R. D. Robb) triple dog dares Flick (Scott Schwartz) to stick his tongue to the flag pole, when Randy (Ian Petrella) eats like a piggy, when the Old Man wins a Major Award, when Ralphie says the F-dash-dash-dash word while helping the Old Man change a tire, when Santa Claus pushes Ralphie down the slide, when Ralphie is forced to wear the bunny costume given to him by Aunt Clara, and when the Bumpus hounds eat the turkey forcing the Parkers to eat Christmas dinner at the Chop Suey Palace.  I had to stop myself from saying all of my favorite lines aloud ("Randy lay there like a slug.  It was his only defense.")  I look forward to watching this every Christmas Eve (several times because it is on for 24 hours) but I'm so glad that it was part of Fathom's Big Screen Classics this year (I love this series) because it put a huge smile on my face!

Note:  The movies in the Fathom's Big Screen Classics series for next year are The Wizard of Oz, My Fair Lady, Labyrinth, Gone With the Wind, Steel Magnolias, South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut Sing-A-Long, The Never Ending Story, Rear Window, Blazing Saddles, Mean Girls, The Fifth Element, and White Christmas.  Are you excited for any of these titles?

The Birds

I am a huge fan of Alfred Hitchcock (my rankings change all of the time but he is definitely one of my top three favorite directors) so I was really excited to see The Birds, which is back in theaters in honor of its 60th anniversary, last night.  I have seen this movie many times but it was a very different experience seeing it on the big screen!  Socialite Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) meets a man named Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) in a San Francisco pet store as he attempts to buy two lovebirds for his eleven-year-old sister Cathy (Veronica Cartwright).  On impulse, she decides to buy the birds and take them to him at his family home in the small Northern California town of Bodega Bay where she meets his former girlfriend Annie (Suzanne Pleshette) and his disapproving mother Lydia (Jessica Tandy).  As the relationship between Melanie and Mitch develops, the town is inexplicably and viciously attacked by a variety of birds.  What is so brilliant about this movie is the almost casual introduction of the romance between Melanie and Mitch with subtle foreshadowing of the horror to come.  Then, when the birds finally begin attacking, the tension is almost unbearable.  I was especially unnerved by the suspense as Melanie waits for Cathy outside of the schoolhouse while birds ominously gather on the playground and when Mitch, Melanie, Lydia, and Cathy anxiously wait inside their house for an attack they know is coming.  The practical effects, involving both real and mechanical birds, really hold up because they are quite disturbing, particularly the attack on the school children as they are running away, the attack on Melanie as she is trapped in a phone booth, and the attack on Melanie in the attic.  The sound design is absolutely brilliant because the sound of the birds attacking is terrifying but the use of silence is even more effective at creating an atmosphere of dread.  Finally, the ending is so bleak (my audience sat in stunned silence even after the lights came back on) but it is the perfect way to emphasize the fact that we are all powerless against the forces of nature.  This is one of Hitchcock's best movies, in my opinion, and I'm so glad I got to see it on the big screen (especially during the month of October).

The Exorcist

I had never seen The Exorcist so, because it is back in theaters for its 50th Anniversary, I took the opportunity last night just in time for the release of the new sequel next weekend.  I found it to be incredibly unsettling (more than scary) and I may or may not have looked away from the screen at one point because I was so unnerved!  Actress Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) is living in Washington, D.C. with her twelve year old daughter Regan (Linda Blair) while filming a movie at Georgetown University.  Regan begins exhibiting troubling behavior so Chris seeks help from both doctors and psychiatrists but nothing helps so someone suggests an exorcism which she rejects.  However, when she suspects that Regan might be responsible for the death of her director Burke Dennings (Jack MacGowran), she seeks out Father Damien Karras (Jason Miller), a psychiatrist at Georgetown University who is tormented by his mother's recent death for which he feels responsible.  Father Karras is skeptical but eventually comes to believe that Regan is possessed by a demon and requests permission to perform an exorcism from the Catholic Church which they grant on the condition that Father Lankester Merrin (Max von Sydow), an experienced but world-weary exorcist, conduct it with his assistance.  During the ensuing exorcism both priests must battle the devil and their own weaknesses.  There are some intense and disturbing scenes, both within the realm of science as Regan undergoes some truly invasive medical procedures and within the realm of the unknown as she swivels her head 360 degrees and projectile vomits, and I honestly don't know which were more upsetting to me.  I was also struck by the brilliant character development, which I was not expecting in a horror movie, because it builds and builds very slowly through incremental events until it is clear that all three main characters are broken (the iconic scene where Father Merrin arrives at the MacNeil house by the light of an upstairs window is incredibly effective at conveying everything he is feeling without any dialogue) and this is very compelling.  All of the performances are excellent (I was especially impressed with Blair because the role is so grueling), the score is atmospheric, and the practical effects are convincing (I think they hold up well even after 50 years).  This has long been considered to be one of the best horror movies of all time and I can definitely understand why now that I've seen it!  It is a masterpiece (although I never want to see it again).

Note:  While I was reading the novel by William Peter Blatty, which I was assigned for a class on popular culture in college, the door to my bedroom slammed shut.  I'm pretty sure it was the devil.

Grease

My sister Marilyn and I are huge fans of the movie Grease so we were really excited that it was being released in theaters again to commemorate its 45th anniversary (what?) as part of Fathom's Big Screen Classics series. We went to see it last night and we both loved it (we tried hard not to sing along to every single song but we may or may not have been successful).  Grease is the quintessential high school movie featuring a love story between bad boy Danny Zuko (John Travolta), the leader of the T-Birds, and Sandy Olsson (Olivia Newton-John), a good girl who has recently transferred to Rydell High from Australia.  They have a summer romance but it takes a little help from the rest of the T-Birds (Jeff Conaway, Barry Pearl, Michael Tucci, and Kelly Ward) and the Pink Ladies (Stockard Channing, Didi Conn, Jamie Donnelly, and Dinah Manoff) to get them back together by graduation.  I love all of the songs, especially "Grease" during the opening and end credits, "Summer Nights," "Hopelessly Devoted to You," "Greased Lightnin'," "Sandy," and "You're the One That I Want," and the choreography is so much fun and definitely stands the test of time (I actually prefer the movie adaptation to the stage version because of the new songs that are used and the choreography).  I love Newton-John (it was a little bit sad to see her on the screen after her recent passing) and Travolta as Danny and Sandy because, even though they both look way too old to play high school students, they have so much chemistry together, especially during "Born to Hand Jive." I also really love all of the cameos by popular stars from the 1950s, such as Sid Caesar, Eve Arden, Alice Ghostley, Joan Blondell, and Frankie Avalon.  Finally, even though I didn't grow up during the 1950s, I love all of the nostalgia for the era with all of the leather jackets, letterman sweaters, poodle skirts, malt shops, drive-in movies, and fantastic cars.  It was so much fun to see this on the big screen with my sister and we are now looking forward to seeing The Birds in October and A Christmas Story in December as part of the Big Screen Classics series (go here to see all of the movies in this series).

Note:  Every time I watch this movie as an adult I am always really shocked by the suggestive lyrics because my sisters and I used to sing them at the top of our lungs whenever we watched it as kids!

The Mummy and The Bride of Frankenstein Double Feature

I really enjoyed the Universal Monsters double features last year (go here and here) so I was excited to learn that a new series of movies is being presented this year, starting with The Mummy and The Bride of Frankenstein.  I had a lot of fun seeing both of these for the first time on the big screen yesterday afternoon!  First up was The Mummy and I really liked it because it was more atmospheric than scary.  During an archaeological expedition in Egypt conducted by Sir Joseph Whemple (Arthur Byron), the mummy of Imhotep (Boris Karloff) is discovered and accidentally brought back to life by the Scroll of Thoth buried next to him.  Ten years later, Imhotep (now known as Ardeth Bey) is desperate to be with his forbidden love, the Princess Ankh-esen-amun, and assists Joseph's son Frank (David Manners) in locating her tomb during a new expedition.  Imhotep comes to believe that a half-Egyptian woman named Helen Grosvener (Zita Johann) is the reincarnation of Ankh-esen-amun and uses all of his powers to try to kill her so she can be mummified and brought back to life again with the Scroll of Thoth.  However, David has fallen in love with Helen and will do anything to stop Imhotep.  The backstory of how Imhotep was buried alive as punishment for stealing the Scroll of Thoth in order to bring Anks-esen-amun back to life is presented as a dream to Helen and his suffering is used as justification for wanting to kill her.  In my opinion, this entitlement is what makes the character of Imhotep so menacing.  Karloff gives an incredibly unsettling performance because he is so still and I was very impressed with the makeup for the mummy (even if this version of the character is not on screen for very long).  Next was The Bride of Frankenstein which is a direct sequel to Frankenstein.  Percy Shelley (Douglas Walton) and Lord Byron (Gavin Gordon) praise the story that Mary Shelley (Elsa Lanchester) once wrote during a stormy night on Lake Geneva but she informs them that there is much more and, as it is another stormy night, she continues (I really liked this framing device).  Both Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) and the Monster (Boris Karloff) survive the fire at the windmill.  Frankenstein returns to Elizabeth (Valerie Hobson) but he still feels compelled to find the secret of immortality until his mentor, Dr. Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger), visits him wanting to collaborate on a new creature and he refuses.  To persuade Frankenstein, Pretorius has the Monster, who now wants a bride, kidnap Elizabeth.  Once again, I was impressed with the vulnerability that Karloff imbues the Monster with, especially in the scenes with the blind hermit (O. P. Heggie).  I also loved all of the elaborate gadgets used to harness the electricity needed to bring life to the bride (Elsa Lanchester) as well as the timpani used in the score for this scene.  Finally, Minnie (Una O'Connor), Elizabeth's maid, brings a lot of unexpected comic relief that made me laugh out loud at one point!  I really enjoyed these movies (seeing them was the perfect way to spend the first day of October) and I definitely recommend seeking them out.

Note:  Fathom Events will also be presenting Creature from the Black Lagoon and Phantom of the Opera as a double feature later this month (go here for more information and tickets).

The Invisible Man and The Wolf Man Double Feature

I enjoyed the double feature of Dracula and Frankenstein so much I decided to see The Invisible Man and The Wolf Man yesterday afternoon.  I had never seen these movies before so it was a lot of fun to watch them for the first time on the big screen.  In The Invisible Man, based on the novel by H.G. Wells,  Claude Rains, one of my favorite actors, plays Dr. Jack Griffin, a scientist who has found the formula to make himself invisible.  At first he searches for a way to become invisible because wants the fame and money such a discovery will bring him but an obscure compound in the formula is slowly driving him mad and now he wants to control the world.  He goes on a killing spree and it is up to his employer Dr. Cranley (Henry Travers), his colleague Dr. Kremp (William Harrigan), and his fiancee Flora (Gloria Stuart) to stop him.  Rains is captivating in the role, even though you only see his face in the final moments, because his voice is so sinister.  The special effects are impressive, even by today's standards, especially the scenes in which Griffin removes his bandages to reveal his invisibility (apparently achieved by having Rains wear a black velvet bodysuit under his costume and then filming against a black velvet backdrop) and when he causes a train derailment.  It is a great blend of horror and science fiction with a message about the dangers of meddling where one should not and I really liked it.  In The Wolf Man, which does not have a literary reference but is based on folklore instead, Lon Chaney is Larry Talbot, the heir to a large estate in Wales who has recently returned to reconcile with his father Sir John Talbot (Claude Rains).  When a large wolf attacks a woman in the forest, Larry kills it with a silver walking stick but not before being bitten.  A gypsy fortuneteller (Maria Ouspenskaya) tells him the the wolf was really her son Bela (Bela Lugosi), a werewolf, and that he will now become a werewolf.  During the full moon he is transformed and goes on a murderous rampage but doesn't remember anything in the morning.  Eventually, he begins to suspect that he is a monster and feels tremendous guilt over what he has done but his father protects him from exposure until forced to take action.  I didn't think the transformation from man to werewolf was that spectacular (although these scenes apparently took hours to film) but the makeup effects (which involve lots of yak hair) are outstanding.  I enjoyed Chaney's emotional performance as a man who is horrified by what he has become and I loved the use of fog in the forest scenes because it so menacing.  As with Dracula and Frankenstein, the portrayal of these characters in popular culture today is influenced more by these movies than by their source material (I kept thinking about Charlie Barber's Invisible Man costume in Marriage Story).  I think these movies featuring the so-called Universal Monsters are iconic and are definitely worth seeking out (even after Halloween).

Dracula and Frankenstein Double Feature

Like everyone else, it seems, I really enjoy watching horror movies during the month of October so I couldn't resist the chance to see a double feature of the 1931 versions of Dracula and Frankenstein on the big screen yesterday.  Unbelievably, I had never seen either of these movies before so it was a lot of fun!  They are based on the novels by Bram Stoker and Mary Shelley, respectively, although they take a lot of liberties with the source material (I used to teach both novels, alternating each year, to my British literature classes) in order to be more cinematic.  In Dracula, Bela Lugosi plays Count Dracula, a vampire from Transylvania who emigrates to London and preys upon several young women.  It is very atmospheric with lots of fog and dramatic lighting, especially on Dracula's eyes as he bewitches his victims, and some impressive (for the time) special effects involving bats.  I was particularly struck by the fact that there is not a score, which seems so unusual now, and by all of the long periods of silence.  I also liked Lugosi's portrayal of Dracula and all of the close-ups on his face to show his sinister intentions.  However, I thought the ending was really ambiguous and abrupt which prompted some laughter from my audience.  In Frankenstein, Colin Clive is an obsessed scientist who digs up corpses with his hunchbacked assistant in order to bestow life on the being he creates.  Boris Karloff is the resulting monster who terrorizes Frankenstein's village and attacks his fiancee.  As with Dracula, I was quite impressed with the special effects, particularly the scene where Frankenstein harnesses the power of electricity to bestow life on his creature.  I also enjoyed Karloff's performance because he is quite frightening as the monster (his makeup is very elaborate for the time) but there is also a vulnerability to him.  The mob scene where the villagers pursue the monster with torches is also quite spectacular.  I really enjoyed seeing these movies because they are now regarded as iconic.  In fact, the portrayal of these characters in popular culture today is informed more by these movies than by the novels that inspired them.  I definitely recommend seeking them out this month!

Note:  Fathom Events will also be presenting The Invisible Man and The Wolf Man as a double feature later this month (go here for information and tickets) as part of the 90th Anniversary of the so-called Universal Monsters.

The Ten Commandments

When TCM announced the lineup for this year's Big Screen Classics series, The Ten Commandments was the movie I was most excited to see (I bought tickets to it and The Maltese Falcon as soon as they were available).  I have so many memories of watching this on TV with my sisters when I was young because it seems like it was broadcast every year around Easter and Passover.  Since it is so long, we were always given permission to stay up past our bedtimes to watch it to the end which was a rare treat.  Sometimes we made it to see the Ten Commandments written on the stone tablets and sometimes we didn't!  Seeing this spectacle on the big screen last night was an amazing experience and I had so much fun anticipating every epic moment!  Moses (Charlton Heston), the son of Hebrew slaves, is an adopted Prince of Egypt vying with Rameses (Yul Brynner) for the throne of Seti I (Cedric Hardwicke) and the attention of Nefretiri (Anne Baxter).  When his true identity is revealed, Moses is banished to the desert but eventually returns to Egypt to lead his enslaved people to freedom and to receive the Ten Commandments from God.  I loved all of the elaborate sets, reported to be the biggest and most expensive up to that point, as well as the period costumes and I was surprised by how stirring I found all of the big action sequences to be, especially the scale of the scene in which the Hebrews leave Egypt (14,00 extras and 15,00 animals were used) and the grandeur of all of the Egyptian chariots giving chase across the desert.  Some of the special effects, such as the turning of a staff into a snake, have not aged particularly well but the parting of the Red Sea is still pretty impressive, even by today's standards, and the writing of the commandments on the stone tablets is quite dramatic.  Heston is incredibly handsome and charismatic in the role of Moses and I found his struggle to accept his destiny to be very moving while Brynner's campy performance as Rameses is a lot of fun to watch.  The overture and an intermission (it is almost four hours long) are included in the theatrical version and, for some reason, I really enjoyed that!  It was certainly exciting to see this movie as it was meant to be seen and I definitely recommend checking out the rest of TCM's lineup (go here).

The Maltese Falcon

I have been so excited to see The Maltese Falcon ever since the 2021 TCM Big Screen Classics series lineup was announced!  I had the chance last night and it was so much fun watching what is widely regarded as one of the best examples of film noir, with Humphrey Bogart as the private eye and Mary Astor as the femme fatale, on the big screen.  The story begins when a beautiful woman named Ruth Wonderley (Astor) hires detective Sam Spade (Bogart) to find a missing person.  The case takes a sinister turn when his partner Miles Archer (Jerome Cowan) and Floyd Thursby, the man he is tailing, are murdered.  Spade discovers that his client, now known as Brigid O'Shaughnessy, was once Thursby's colleague and that she, Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre), Wilmer Cook (Elisha Cook, Jr.), and Kasper Gutman (Sydney Greenstreet) are all in pursuit of a mysterious black statue of a falcon, purported to be a lost tribute from the Knights Templar of Malta to Charles V of Spain, which Thursby apparently found in Istanbul.  After a series of convoluted misadventures Spade eventually finds the falcon and solves the case.  This movie is incredibly suspenseful with so many twists and turns that you can't possibly guess what it going to happen next and features one of the best MacGuffins in film history.  Bogart gives a brilliant performance as the ruthless anti-hero who quips and fights his way out of every situation with a cheeky grin on his face.  Lorre is hilarious as the eccentric Cairo and Greenstreet, in his very first screen role, steals every scene that he is in as Gutman.  Astor is also fantastic as the manipulative O'Shaughnessy and her performance in the emotionally charged final scene with Spade is epic.  I loved the hard-boiled dialogue, the use of light and shadow in the cinematography, and the stylized direction by John Huston.  It is a wildly entertaining movie and I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it!

Fiddler on the Roof

Even though I recently saw the movie version of Fiddler on the Roof on one of my streaming platforms (I can't remember which one), I couldn't miss out on an opportunity to see it on the big screen last night because I love it so much!  Tevye (Topol) is a poor Jewish milkman living in the small village of Anatevka in Imperial Russia with his wife Golde (Norma Crane) and five daughters.  He clings to his traditions to help him deal with the hardships of life but his daughters Tzeitel (Rosalind Harris), Hodel (Michele Marsh), and Chava (Neva Small) challenge those traditions by choosing to marry Motel (Leonard Frey), Perchik (Paul Michael Glaser), and Fyedka (Raymond Lovelock), respectively, without a matchmaker.  Watching this movie makes me so happy and I eagerly anticipate all of my favorite songs, especially "Tradition," "Matchmaker, Matchmaker," "If I Were a Rich Man," "Sabbath Prayer," "Sunrise, Sunset," "Far From the Home I Love," and "Anatevka."  I tried really hard, unsuccessfully, not to sing along!  The choreography is fantastic and I really love the Russian dance in "To Life," the bottle dance during the wedding, and the ballet sequence in "Chavaleh" but my very favorite production number is "Tevye's Dream" because I once played Fruma-Sarah and it is always fun to see her!  I'm pretty sure that I sang every word with Ruth Madoc!  I always really enjoy Topol's portrayal of Tevye because he imbues the role with quite a bit of humor, especially with his conversations with God and his interactions with Golde (the scene where he wants to see Motel's sewing machine kills me every time), but he also shows vulnerability when he rejects Chava.  I also really like Frey because he is so adorably dorky as Motel, particularly in the song "Miracle of Miracles."  I have seen this movie dozens of times but last night I was struck by the fact that all of Tevye's clothes are threadbare, even the coat he wears at the wedding.  I have never noticed that before (probably because I've never seen it on such a big screen).  I also noticed that the shot composition in "Tradition" is mirrored in "Anatevka" which I think is really effective.  I don't think I will ever get tired of seeing this movie (or the stage musical, for that matter) and I highly recommend seeing it as part of the TCM Big Screen Classics series (go here for information and tickets).

Note:  I have really enjoyed the TCM Big Screen Classics series this year (I went to as many of them as I could).  The selections for next year have been announced and are as follows:  The Maltese Falcon, Boyz n the Hood, The Ten Commandments, La Bamba, Fried Green Tomatoes, The Birdcage, The African Queen, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Citizen Kane, The Silence of the Lambs, West Side Story, and On Golden Pond.  I think I am most looking forward to The Maltese Falcon and The Ten Commandments.  Are you looking forward to any of these movies?

Ghost

I really loved the movie Ghost when it was first released in theaters thirty years ago.  I thought Patrick Swayze was incredibly appealing as Sam Wheat but I especially enjoyed Whoopi Goldberg in a hilarious performance as Oda Mae Brown.  It is now back in theaters as part of the TCM Big Screen Classics series and I had the chance to see it yesterday.  I loved it just as much as I did then (for the same reasons).  Sam is an investment banker on Wall Street who discovers that there are unusually high balances in the accounts he manages and confides this information to his friend Carl Bruner (Tony Goldwyn).  Later that night he is killed when a robbery goes wrong and soon realizes that he is now a ghost.  He stays close to his girlfriend Molly Jensen (Demi Moore) and is horrified when his murderer, Willie Lopez (Rick Aviles), uses the key he stole from him to break into the apartment he shared with her.  He finds the medium Oda Mae, a con artist who turns out to have a real psychic gift, and convinces her to warn Molly that she is in danger.  Sam eventually learns that he was killed because of a money laundering scheme and uses both Oda Mae and Molly to thwart the killer.  It was so much fun to watch this again and most of my favorite scenes involved Oda Mae, especially the scenes where she impersonates Rita Miller in order to access the stolen money and when Sam forces her to turn the money over to a group of nuns.  Even though it is a bit simplistic, I've always liked the symbolism of having a beam of light take the good people to Heaven and having shadows take the evil people to Hell (I remember cheering when the murderers were dragged to Hell the first time I saw it), although I did find the final scene where Sam goes to Heaven to be a little bit cheesy this time around (the rainbow beams are a bit much).  I remember thinking that the, now iconic, pottery scene with "Unchained Melody" by the Righteous Brothers was so steamy when I first saw it and now I was surprised by how tame it seems by today's standards.  I love Swayze's performance as Sam because, not only is he incredibly handsome (I love his burgundy shirt and black jeans), he is so earnest in his protectiveness of Molly.  I would definitely like to have him watching over me!  Moore, and her uncanny ability to cry on cue, is also really good as a grief-stricken woman who is torn between wanting to believe that Sam is still with her and her better judgment.  Finally, Goldwyn is so creepy as Carl, especially in the scene where he contrives to take off his shirt.  I'm not usually a fan of romances but I love this movie (there is a reason why it was the number one box office draw in 1990).  I highly recommend it, especially on the big screen (go here).

The Shining

The Shining is one of my favorite Stephen King novels and, even though it deviates from the source material quite a bit, I think Stanley Kubrick's adaptation is a masterpiece.  I do think that the book is much scarier (I slept with the light on for a week after I finished reading it as a teenager) but the movie is incredibly unsettling.  Just hearing the dark and ominous notes of Symphonie fantastique by Hector Berlioz during the opening sequence gave me goosebumps when I had a chance to see it again yesterday as part of the TCM Big Screen Classics series.  Aspiring writer Jack Torrence (Jack Nicholson) is desperate to escape from his troubled past and hopes to find the time and solitude to work on his novel so he takes a job as the winter caretaker at the Overlook Hotel in the remote mountains of Colorado with his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and his young son Danny (Danny Lloyd).  Once they arrive, the cook Dick Hallorann (Scatman Crothers) recognizes that Danny has a strong psychic ability that he calls "shining" and warns him that the hotel also has a "shine" because of its troubled past.  Danny begins having frightening visions about the former inhabitants of the hotel but Jack seems to be haunted by these malevolent ghosts.  When a severe winter storm cuts them off from the outside world, Jack has a complete psychotic break causing him to attack his family.  What makes this movie so unnerving is that you are never entirely sure of what is happening at the Overlook Hotel because Jack, who is a recovering alcoholic with a history of hurting his son, is such an unreliable character.  Is he slowly being driven mad by isolation and claustrophobia or is he being possessed by the ghosts of the hotel?  Whenever Jack interacts with the ghosts of the former caretaker Grady (Philip Stone), the bartender Lloyd (Joe Turkel), or a woman murdered in the bathtub (Lia Beldam), there is always a mirror in the scene leading to speculation that he might be talking to himself.  The sound design, including Danny's Big Wheel traveling across different floor surfaces, ice cubes rattling in Jack's glass, the echo of the typewriter in the cavernous lobby, and the staccato beating of a heart, is incredibly foreboding and does much to enhance the tension.  The long Steadicam tracking shots following the characters through the maze of the empty hotel (and an actual maze) also highlight the isolation.  The many parallels between the shot compositions (which become more apparent the more times you see it) are absolutely brilliant, especially in the scene with Danny and Jack in their apartment and the scene with Jack and the woman in Room 237 because it makes us question how Danny gets the bruises on his neck.  Nicholson, in an iconic performance, is unbelievably menacing and conveys a feeling of terror with just a glance.  Duvall is also very good (although my biggest criticism of the movie as compared to the book is the character of Wendy because she is so weak and passive).  This  movie is one of the best examples of how to create an atmosphere of unease and I highly recommend it, particularly on the big screen (go here for more information).

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

For the second night in a row I got to watch one of my very favorite movies on the big screen again!  I have been fascinated with Close Encounters of the Third Kind since I saw it when it was first released in 1977 as a nine year old.  I have seen it many times since (even on the big screen) but last night was the first time that I got to see the Director's Cut and I loved it!  Claude Lacombe (Francois Truffaut), a French scientist, investigates an increase in UFO activity around the world and discovers a way to communicate with these UFOs by broadcasting a distinctive five-tone musical phrase into outer space.  In response, he receives a set of geographic coordinates that lead to Devil's Tower in Wyoming.  Lacombe and the U.S. military evacuate the area by using a false story about a toxic spill.  Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) and several other people, including Jillian Guiler (Melinda Dillon) and her son Barry (Cary Guffey), also have an encounter with these UFOs and both he and Jillian become increasingly obsessed with the shape of Devil's Tower without knowing what or where it is (you will never look at mashed potatoes in the same way again).  They both make the connection when they see the reports of the toxic spill on television and travel to Devil's Tower for another awe-inspiring encounter with the UFO.  What I love most about this movie is that everyone reacts to the UFOs with wonder and amazement rather that fear and I feel that same sense of wonder every time I watch the mother ship descend into the arena!  It is absolutely magical!  I think the special effects hold up really well, especially in the design of the aliens.  I remember when this was first released the design of the aliens was a really big secret and I was so excited to see what they would look like!  My favorite character in this movie is Lacombe because he also has a feeling of wonder about the UFOs and I love Truffaut's portrayal of him (when I first saw this my Dad had to tell me that he was a famous French New Wave director and I became a little bit obsessed with him).  The more I see this movie the more struck I am by the lengths to which the government goes in order to suppress information about what is happening and, especially right now, I find that scenario entirely plausible.  This movie is both thought-provoking and spellbinding and I highly recommend seeing it on the big screen.  You have one more opportunity to see it as part of the TCM Big Screen Classics series on Oct. 1 (go here for more details).

Note:  I also own Close Encounters of the Third Kind on Blu-ray so I can watch it whenever I want but I just can't resist seeing it on the big screen!

Airplane!

I am a huge fan of the TCM Big Screen Classics movie series and I was particularly excited about the selections slated for this year.  Many of the screenings had to be canceled because of Covid-19 but I am happy to report that a lot of them have been rescheduled now that movie theaters are opening up again so I was able to see Airplane! last night!  I remember watching this hilarious spoof of disaster movies on my little black and white TV late at night when I was in high school but it was so much more fun to see it on the big screen.  On a flight from Los Angeles to Chicago, which is carrying a little girl (Jill Whelan) who needs a heart transplant, the pilot Captain Oveur (Peter Graves), the Co-Pilot Roger Murdock (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), the Navigator Victor Basta (Frank Ashmore), and several of the passengers all become incapacitated with food poisoning.  It is all up to Ted Striker (Robert Hays), a pilot suffering from PTSD after the war, to save them with the help Elaine Dickinson (Julie Hagerty), a stewardess who is trying to break up with Striker, Dr. Rumack (Leslie Nelson), an unflappable physician on board, Steve McCroskey (Lloyd Bridges), a hard-boiled air traffic control supervisor, and Captain Rex Kramer (Robert Stack), a pilot who flew with Striker in the war.  This movie is filled with slapstick comedy (slapstick comedy is based on physical humor such as pratfalls and mild violence but that isn't important right now), off-color jokes, and naughty sexual innuendos and, even though contemporary audiences might find some of it offensive, I laughed out loud multiple times and I was not alone!  I started laughing during a reference to Jaws in the opening scene and didn't stop until the end-credits scene where a man is still waiting in a cab driven by Striker at the beginning of the movie.  Almost everyone was laughing and quoting their favorite lines ("What's the vector, Victor?") as they walked out of the theater so it was definitely a lot of fun!  Unfortunately, last night was the final screening of Airplane! but there are lots of great movies in the series coming soon to a theater near you (go here for more information).  I am especially looking forward to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Psycho, and The Shining.

The Color Purple

I have only seen the movie version of The Color Purple on cable TV so I was happy that it was a part of the TCM Big Screen Classics Series this year.  I had the opportunity to see it yesterday and I had forgotten how powerful this movie is!  Celie (played as young girl by Desreta Jackson and as an adult by Whoopi Goldberg), a young black girl living in the rural South in the early 1900s, has already had two children by her abusive father who have been taken away from her.  Eventually, she is forced to marry an older man known to her only as Mister (Danny Glover).  He beats her and forces her to cook, clean, and take care of his three children but, worse than that, he separates her from her beloved sister Nettie (Akosua Busia) and he hides all of Nettie's letters to her.  After several years of this treatment her spirit is entirely broken but it is her relationships with Sofia (Oprah Winfrey), the wife of Mister's son Harpo who teachers her that she can stand up for herself, and Shug Avery (Margaret Avery), Mister's mistress who teaches her to love herself, that give her the strength to overcome the adversity in her life.  The treatment that Celie endures is sometimes difficult to watch but it is worth it for the triumphant ending which always brings a tear to my eye.  There are so many scenes where Celie, almost wordlessly and almost without any change in facial expression, submits to the indignities of her life but Goldberg delivers an affecting performance that is both somehow sympathetic and compelling.  Her transformation is incredibly powerful, especially when she confronts Mister which, in turn, helps Sofia (a strong debut performance from Winfrey) find her voice again.  I wanted to cheer out loud during that scene.  I loved the message about the importance of female relationships and about finding the beauty in life when it seems so bleak.  I think the movie is more hopeful and inspiring than Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize winning novel (mostly because it is so beautifully shot in a bucolic setting filled with wildflowers) and I highly recommend checking it out!

Meet Me In St. Louis

Yesterday I saw Meet Me in St. Louis, the final movie in the TCM Big Screen Classics series for this year (see below for next year's selections).  Believe it or not, I had never seen this movie (on the big screen or otherwise) so I was really excited for this opportunity.  This movie is a series of vignettes about the Smith family, including Alonzo Smith (Leon Ames), his wife Anna (Mary Astor), their children Lon, Jr. (Henry H. Daniels), Rose (Lucille Bremer), Esther (Judy Garland), Agnes (Joan Carroll), and Tootie (Margaret O'Brien), Grandpa (Harry Davenport), and their maid Katie (Marjorie Main), in the year leading up to the World's Fair of 1904 in St. Louis, Missouri.  In the summer, Rose and Esther are plotting romances with Warren Sheffield (Robert Sully) and John Truitt (Tom Drake), respectively.  In the fall, Agnes and Tootie are involved in a Halloween prank gone wrong.  In the winter, the family learns that Alonzo has been transferred to New York City.  They celebrate their final Christmas in St. Louis at an elegant ball on Christmas Eve and, afterwards, Esther must soothe a distraught Tootie.  In the spring, the family makes a visit to the World's Fair and they marvel at the fact that St. Louis is their home.  This movie is absolutely charming and features some well known songs such as "The Boy Next Door," "The Trolley Song," and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."  Garland gives a marvelous performance as Esther but, in my opinion, Margaret O' Brien absolutely steals the show as the irrepressible Tootie.  I loved her sassy performance in the song "Under the Bamboo Tree," her Halloween prank on a grouchy neighbor, and her poignant response to the song "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."  I really enjoyed all of the period costumes and the fantastic Smith family home, especially all of the gas lamps.  I loved this appealing and nostalgic look at a time gone by and I would highly recommend checking it out on the big screen (go here for information and tickets).

Note:  I have really enjoyed all of the movies in the series this year (I was able to see all of them except for The Wizard of Oz because it was screened during the Sundance Film Festival).  The selections for next year were recently announced and include An American in Paris, Love Story, The Color Purple, King Kong, A League of Their Own, Airplane!, Annie, The Blues Brothers, Ghost, Babe, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Psycho, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and Fiddler on the Roof.  Are you excited to see any of these movies on the big screen?  I am looking forward to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which is one of my favorite movies!

When Harry Met Sally

I didn't see When Harry Met Sally when it was first released in theaters because I am not a big fan of romantic comedies.  I have since seen it several times because I had a friend who absolutely loved it and was appalled that I hadn't seen it before.  She forced invited me to watch it with her and, of course, I thought it was absolutely charming.  I was really excited that it was included in the TCM Big Screen Classics series this year and I've been looking forward to seeing it in the theater for months.  Sally Albright (Meg Ryan) and Harry Burns (Billy Crystal) drive cross-country from college to New York City together and immediately dislike each other.  Over the next twelve years they have several chance encounters and they eventually become friends, become attracted to each other, break up, and then fall in love.  There are so many things that I love about this movie!  I love Carrie Fisher as Sally's best friend Marie and Bruno Kirby as Harry's best friend Jess.  I love it when they end up together after Sally sets Marie up with Harry and Harry sets Jess up with Sally.  I love it when they toast Harry and Sally at their wedding, saying that they got together because they didn't find either of them attractive!  I love it when Harry and Jess do the wave several times at the Giants game when they are talking about Harry's divorce.  I love the scene with Sally at the restaurant (you know the one I mean) and a customer (played by director Rob Reiner's mother) says, "I'll have what she's having!"  I love it when Harry and Sally discuss Casablanca on the phone while watching it separately in bed.  I love that every time Harry is shown reading a book, he turns to the last page.  I love when Harry and Sally sing a karaoke version of "Surrey With the Fringe on Top."  I love when Harry tells Sally that she looks good in skirts and then she is wearing one in the next scene.  I love all of the interviews with the older couples about when they first met.  I love all of the music by Harry Connick, Jr., especially his version of "It Had to Be You."  Watching this movie was just delightful and I was really impressed with how timeless it is.  I highly recommend seeing this on the big screen (go here for information and tickets).

The Godfather Part II

I had never seen The Godfather Part II before (I had never seen The Godfather until it was screened as part of the TCM Big Screen Classics series a few years ago) so I was really excited to see it yesterday.  This movie tells the parallel stories of how a young Vito Corleone (Robert DeNiro) comes to America and rises to become the Don of the Corleone crime family and how his son Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), after eliminating all of his rivals, consolidates his power as the Don by eliminating anyone who betrays him, including family members.  I think the story is a little bit convoluted and I had a hard time following who was playing whom.  However, Michael Corleone is such a complex and compelling character and I enjoyed seeing his arc in this film.  He was absolutely ruthless in the first film but that was nothing compared to what he does in this one.  The scene where he tells his associate to assassinate his brother Fredo (John Cazale) at the funeral of his mother (Morgana King) is pretty chilling but shutting the door on his wife Kay (Diane Keaton) is particularly harsh.  I think the young Al Pacino is incredibly handsome and he gives a riveting performance.  Pacino keeps his face very stoic but you can see everything he is feeling by looking into his eyes, especially during the final scene where he is alone and bitter.  Equally captivating is DeNiro as the young Vito (he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance).  I loved the scene where he takes his revenge against the man who murdered his family and I was especially impressed with how well he mimicked the mannerisms of Marlon Brando (who played Vito in the first film).  The cinematography and score are moody and atmospheric and I especially enjoyed the period verisimilitude, especially in the scenes in Cuba (even if I didn't really understand what Michael was doing there).  Many people say that this is the best sequel in movie history and I can understand why because it brilliantly portrays the natural progression of Michael Corleone's corruption begun in the first movie.  I highly recommend seeing it on the big screen (go here).

Alien

The first time I saw Alien, I was in high school babysitting for a family down the street.  It was after midnight and the kids were all asleep so I went downstairs to the basement and started watching HBO.  This movie came on and I distinctly remember everything about it because it was the single most terrifying movie experience I have ever had.  No one can hear you scream in space and, apparently, no one can hear you scream in the basement of a neighbor's house!  I have since watched this movie countless times but never on the big screen (I was 11 when it was first released in theaters) so I was beyond excited when it was announced as a TCM Big Screen Classics selection!  My Dad loves this movie as much as I do so he came along with me to see it last night!  We had such a great time!  The crew of the commercial towing vehicle Nostromo is awakened from stasis to investigate a distress call in space.  They land on a moon and find an alien ship which they investigate.  Kane (John Hurt), one of the crew members, discovers a chamber containing hundreds of eggs and, when he touches one, a creature emerges and attaches itself to his face.  Back on board the Nostromo, the creature detaches itself and is later found dead.  Kane seems to be fine but eventually an alien bursts from his chest, killing him, and escapes into the ship.  One by one, the crew members, including Captain Dallas (Tom Skerritt), Navigator Lambert (Veronica Cartwright), Science Officer Ash (Ian Holm), and Engineers Parker (Yaphet Kotto) and Brett (Harry Dean Stanton), are killed as they hunt for the alien until Warrant Officer Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is left alone to confront it in some of the most suspenseful scenes ever filmed.  In fact, this movie is the standard I use to judge all other science fiction and horror movies and most of them pale in comparison.  The use of lighting and sound design in this movie is absolutely brilliant and seeing it on the big screen made it even more ominous.  I jumped a mile (although, thankfully, I did not scream) when they find Jones the cat while looking for the alien.  This movie is a masterpiece and I highly recommend seeing it on the big screen.  Go here for details and tickets.