Category Archives: cinema

at the pictures, 1951

Posted on Saturday, 2004 July 24 by Anton

I’ve just seen An American in Paris, whose supporting cast includes the pianist Oscar Levant, who also said: My psychiatrist once said to me, “Maybe life isn’t for everyone.” Happiness isn’t something you experience; it’s something you remember. I envy … Continue reading →

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when I’m virtually on the street where you live

Posted on Sunday, 2004 July 18 by Anton

All About Eve (1950) contains a brief scene of Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) and Addison DeWitt (George Sanders) walking along a back-projected street, something I’ve rarely seen. I wonder why it was done. — Ah, on second thought: The street … Continue reading →

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the loose canon

Posted on Thursday, 2004 July 15 by Anton

I’ve now seen Rashômon twice, about twenty years apart, and still can’t see what’s so great about it. My housemate asked: “Is there a Japanese School of Overacting?” November: And who can translate the title for me? The frame story … Continue reading →

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a bigger taste of Bollywood

Posted on Tuesday, 2004 July 13 by Anton

Nudged by Madhu, I watched Once Upon a Time in India — or rather, Sholay. (Sholay is not the name of a character or place in the story, but I see that the film has also been known as Embers … Continue reading →

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and some were non-big

Posted on Tuesday, 2004 July 13 by Anton

What I liked most about Sunset Blvd: two brief bouts of flirting between Joe and Betty struck me as having rare wit and heart.

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cast against type

Posted on Sunday, 2004 July 11 by Anton

Watching Kurosawa’s 野良犬 Nora Inu (Stray Dog) (1949), it’s often hard to believe that the earnest, clean-shaven rookie detective is Mifune! Conversely and even harder to swallow, the subhuman hooligan of the title will become the idealistic young samurai in … Continue reading →

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Peter Parker picked a peck of plutonic protons

Posted on Friday, 2004 July 09 by Anton

I hadn’t been out to the pictures in a while, so today I went to see Spider-Man 2. I don’t remember the first one as quite so soggy with angst; and the scientists’ lines are occasionally painful. (Hint to any … Continue reading →

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