Random Thoughts

I’m a great fan of Sirk’s 50s melodramas. I mean, All That Heaven Allows… Written on the Wind… Imitation of Life…

They’re great films.

They’re also kinda preachey. (In a good way!) The politics of this film are slightly bit more difficult to parse. It’s not Sirk’s usual pinko commie setting: I mean, the Korean war. It’s a bit “War Is Hell”, but a lot “War Is Taking Care Of Stray Korean Children”.

(And the choice of having a not very Korean looking woman play the only Korean woman with a speaking part is a bit weird. I mean, if this wasn’t Sirk I wouldn’t have mentioned it, but from him it’s odd.)

But, hey, I cried.

Also: “Your wife must be very happy.” Rock Hudson: “She’s as happy as she can be with a husband who left her alone.”

Battle Hymn. Douglas Sirk. 1957.

Malmo Aviation

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It’s a self bronzer catastrophe!

Much tense!

I can see why the studio weren’t quite happy with this film. The tense maelstrom into depravity is difficult to parse — does the film really mean it (man), or is it a parody? Were the actors rolling around laughing while coming up with the “reefer” lines?

But anyway. It is awfully exciting.

Touch of Evil. Orson Welles. 1958.

Mudslide

I made this with totally the wrong sort of whisk{e,}y. It’s probably nice with a better brand.

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Oh, this is from the same director as 東 京物語, which is officially the best film ever.

I really like his style. He puts the camera almost in the line-of-sight of the characters while they’re speaking to each other. So you feel like you’re in the middle. It’s very odd, but quite effective.

It’s funny, too. I totally LOL-ed out loud (using sounds and stuff) several times. Like the shaving scene.

So melodrama. Wow.

浮草. Yasujirô Ozu. 1959.

Leap Year

Lemon Drop

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The DVD transfer is among the worst I’ve seen. Is this an upsampled VHS thing? Everyhing is all moire and stuff…

It might just be me, but I just didn’t find this to be very funny. And I usually like Billy Wilder films. Perhaps I’m just in a lousy mood tonight. Or perhaps it’s the magic pixie dream girl thing, once again, boring me to tears.

The Apartment. Billy Wilder. 1960.

Last Word

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