Play Misty for Me (1971)

The second film in my Essential Clint Eastwood marathon is Play Misty for Me, a psychological thriller in which Eastwood stars and makes his directing debut. He plays Dave Garver, a Carmel CA disc jockey, well-liked around town in spite of his inability to settle on one girl. He drives a sporty convertible, lives in a cool house on the edge of a cliff, works nights spinning discs and reading poetry, and he's on his way up, receiving notice in San Francisco, maybe even an offer to work there. Then he meets Evelyn in a bar, what looks like a chance meeting, but Evelyn is an obsessive fan, the one who calls in every night and asks Dave to "play Misty for me." Evelyn takes over Dave's life. What begins as an affair leads to threats and we see before Dave does that Evelyn is very unstable and even dangerous.

Play Misty for Me is a good, small film. Parts of it are excellent, but some scenes are ridiculously dated, like the long walk on the beach which indicates his re-involvement with an old love. Shot around Monterrey and Carmel, the film focuses on the beauty of the coast and the local hot stops. The scenes shot live at the Monterrey Jazz Festival are wonderful. A seminal film for Eastwood, it's a benchmark for his development as both an actor and director.

Winchester '73: (1950)

The third movie in my Essential James Stewart marathon is Anthony Mann's Winchester 73. Dan Duryea, Shelley Winters, Stephen McNally star along James Stewart who plays Lin McAdam. McAdam wins a prized Winchester 73, one-in-a-thousand, rifles in a shooting contest. Before he can claim his prize, it's stolen by his closest competitor in the contest. What follows is his quest to reclaim his prize rifle and also to accomplish something more. For the first half of the film, it seems we are watching the story of the rifle by following whose hands it passes through. At the mid-point we learn that McAdam's course involves more than recovering the rifle. It involves revenge of a certain sort.

Stewart is great as Lin McAdams, keeping his dark side under wraps as he helps those his path crosses in pursuit of his goal. He's knowledgeable, tender, understanding, but never veers from his quest for revenge and reclaiming his prize.

This is a great Western from the team of Stewart and Mann who collaborated on four films after Winchester '73: Bend of the River(1952),The Naked Spur(1953),The Far Country(1955), and The Man from Laramie(1955)

Personal Marathon #3: Essential Clint Eastwood

Again the Filmspotting forum recommended films for my next personal marathon: Essential Clint Eastwood.

Eastwood, now 78 years old, is saying in interviews that Gran Torino is his last starring role, so I included it on the list.

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly (1966) *
Paint Your Wagon (1969) *
Play Misty For Me (1971) **
Dirty Harry (1971) **
High Plains Drifter (1973) *
The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) **
White Hunter Black Heart (1990) *
Unforgiven (1992) **
Gran Torino (2008) *

**already seen at least once, but will watch again
* never seen and obtainable

Since all these films are available, I'm looking forward to finishing this marathon quickly!

UPDATE: Going to a sneak of Gran Torino on Saturday even though I feel like the preview shows me most of the film, oh well...

The Wrestler

Could I be any more excited?

Tomorrow The Wrestler finally opens in Australia. John and I will be there! While I don't expect it to be the Best Film of 2008, I'm fully expecting that Mickey Rourke will knock my socks off with his performance. I've heard "Mickey Rourke gives a performance for the ages in The Wrestler, a richly affecting, heart-wrenching yet ultimately rewarding drama." Gosh, a performance for the ages! I hope so. Anything less will sorely disappoint me.

UPDATE: It's raw; it's powerful; it's the performance of the decade, for sure.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

The second movie in my Essential James Stewart marathon is John Ford's The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance starring, along with Stewart, John Wayne, and Lee Marvin. US Senator Ransom Stoddard returns to Shinbone where he made his name as the man who shot notorious outlaw Liberty Valance and tells the truth about his past deed. The real reason for his return to Shinbone is to attend the funeral of his close friend Tom Doniphon who played a key role in Stoddard's successful life at the expense of his own reputation and well-being.

Stewart is very convincing as the bookish, somewhat clumsy, but principled young lawyer. Wayne is perfect as the town's gritty protector who is the only one who will stand up against Liberty Valance and his gang of thugs. It's a Western about the coming of civilization in the form of statehood to the US territories, of the educational demands of democracy, and of the forgotten heroes of that struggle.

John Ford's direction is impeccable. Every shot is memorable. His use of black and white and of shadow, the composition of his scenes, and the acting he gets from his stars are all remarkable.

Lee Marvin's turn as the vicious, black-hearted Liberty Valance is without apology or humor or room for sympathy. He is perfectly despicable.

Great supporting performances by Andy Devine as the town's cowardly sheriff and Edmond O'Brien as the newspaper editor and Vera Miles as the love interest round out the terrific cast.

Filmspotting's Top 25 Films of 2008

Adam and Matty have posted their Top 25 Films of 2008 at the Filmspotting site. Actually they posted 30 films at the top of their lists and a few at the very bottom of their lists. They have also listed their Top 5 Lead Male and Female Performances and the Top 5 Supporting Male and Female Performances for 2008.

To hear Adam and Matty discuss their choices, listen to Filmspotting 238, 239, and 240. On the January 17th show (241), they will present the 2008 Blowout which includes surprises, disappointments, and lots of other year-end movie trivia which completes their film year for 2008.

Indiscreet

Proof that the thinnest of plots when well-acted can produce the best movies is Indiscreet. Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman are perfect as lovers who find happiness beyond deceit. They were beautiful together in Notorious in 1946 and again in Indiscreet in 1958.

Tim Winton's Dirt Music

Tim Winton's wonderful book, Dirt Music, is in the works as a film. "In pre-production", they say in the biz. Evidently, Rachel Weisz is playing Georgie Jutland, but there's a lack of clarity about the part of Luther Fox. First, Heath Ledger was announced. Even before his death, Colin Farrell was announced, but Farrell says now "that project didn't work out for me". According to imDb, Russell Crowe is "rumored", but that site still lists Farrell for the part of Fox. Confusion!

I've no doubt that the film will find its stars. What interests me more is when will shooting begin and will shooting take place on the Western Australian coast where the book is set? I have nightmares that shooting will be moved to the east coast because Western Australian shoots present expenses and inconveniences that shoots in the Sydney or Melbourne do not.

If the film is not set in Western Australia, I don't see how its story can be told. It's not only a love story between two people; it's a story about love of place as well. And that place is the red dirt and the blue Indian Ocean and the cloudless skies of the west coast of Australia.

Alfred Hitchcock, Auteur

Alfred Hitchcock is a director I love not to take too seriously, but still admire his craftsmanship and storytelling. I've seen the following Hitchcock films:

The 39 Steps (1935)
The Lady Vanishes (1938)
Rebecca (1940)
Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
Spellbound (1945)
Notorious (1946)
Rope (1948)
Strangers on a Train (1951)
Rear Window (1954)
Dial M for Murder (1954)
To Catch a Thief (1955)
The Trouble with Harry (1955)
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
Vertigo (1958)
North by Northwest (1959)
Psycho (1960)
The Birds (1963)
Marnie (1964)

My favorite is Rear Window. The best crafted is Vertigo. The best, most underwatched Hitchcock is Shadow of a Doubt. My least favorite is the 1956 version of The Man Who Knew Too Much, but still it has a memorable scene at the theatre which is one of the finest on film.

Still on my radar, but not seen:
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
Jamaica Inn (1939)
Torn Curtain (1966)

R.I.P. Paul Newman

I didn't have this blog when one of my favorite actors died. So R.I.P. Paul Newman. Your contributions to film and to humanity are your enduring legacy.

Here's my favorite scene from one of Mr. Newman's best films, Cool Hand Luke. If you haven't seen the film, this scene, known as Plastic Jesus, depicts the prisoner Luke's reaction to news that his mother has died.



Didn't that break your heart?

Filmspotting!

Filmspotting is a great movie podcast. Two hip guys, Adam and Matty, discuss film for an hour each week. They review recent releases, conduct a film marathon, give very mediocre performances of a movie scene (that segment is called Massacre Theatre for good reason), and designate their picks for a weekly top 5 on some film topic. Their film board is the best around. Many film students and film aficionados plus regular folk like me discuss every aspect of film and play film games like movie trivia and name that screenshot. All my movie-viewing recommendations come from these two sources.
Filmspotting is heard every week on NPR radio as well as in the podcast format. If you're into film and have no one to share your film knowledge with, you should check out Filmspotting and the Filmspotting boards. Good times!