Best Scene: The ending.
4. Peter Finch in No Love For Johnnie - Finch gives a good performance even if he never quite made me care about Johnnie (sorry Johnnie me too).
Best Scene: Visiting his lover at home.
3. Alberto Sordi in A Difficult Life - Sordi gives a wonderful portrayal of the different sides of a man as he attempts to make through his way through life as he does.
Best Scene: Final reuniting.
2. Peter Cushing in Cash on Demand - Cushing gives a convincing portrayal of a man turning around his stubborn ways through unlikely means while also keeping a sense of danger throughout an odd heist.
Best Scene: Getting "caught".
1. Tatsuya Nakadai in The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer - Good prediction Shaggy. Nakadai gives one of the most heartbreaking depictions ever given of a man desperately trying to survive while desperately trying to hold onto a modicum of humanity.
Best Scene: The Prayer.
Next: 1961 Supporting
36 comments:
Louis: Ratings and thoughts on the rest of the lead performances.
Your Female Top 20s with Ratings (Lowest 5 and 4.5) with 4+ honourable mentions.
And your wins.
Martin Stephens in The Innocents for Supporting.
Louis, what performance was ranked 31st. It has been left blank.
Great win for Nakadai. Glad he finally won.... Mifune though would still be my win for 1961 personally.
YEAH! I GOT THE FUCKING PREDICTIONS! FUCK YEAH!
When the Nakadai is gone, now he can be calm and at peace.
Hello Louis!
Tell me from the year 1961 which are your TOP7 best:
- Song
- Score
- Poster
- Editing
- Screenplays (adapted and original)
- Cast
- Character of the year
Louis: I will say, the original profile picture you used for Franco Citti on the 1961 page, it remands me of Jamie Tartt from Ted Lasso in terms of the expression he uses lol.
Louis: Your thoughts on these deleted scenes https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LqEpvVskykM
I was kinda bored, so I thought I would watch
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always, honestly.. it actually was enjoyable.. even if there were some problems with it.
Really happy for Nakadai. A little more surprised about A Soldier's Prayer overtaking Yojimbo, although probably should have seen that coming from your review.
Luke:
Price - 4.5(SPOILER ALERT, you get some truly delicious evil Price at the end of the film and he is just having so much fun while being completely devious. The rest of the time though he is actually convincing as the love struck, lost and broken husband. Portraying both genuine fear and concern for what he might've accidentally done to his wife. Although being Price I'll admit I kept going, okay when's the shoe going to drop, though actually it drops in a very different way here than usual.)
Belmondo - 4.5(Considered putting him in supporting however I think he's just is barely lead. I do like him here in managing to play the character with just the right tone. Finding the right sense of directness without coming off a overly righteous. Sincere rather than sanctimonious. He even is rather blunt at points but Belmondo always manages to present it in a way that is convincing rather than off-putting. And while it is brief in terms of his perspective, he is good in portraying the quiet sense of frustration both with the sense of clearly having a certain feelings for the woman while also knowing he has to shut it down.)
Morrel - 4(Quite a bit of fun in his singular note as pestering Cushing every step of the way, dominating in just how casual he is though is effective in finding these slight variations that increase the sense of menace in the character.)
Douglas - 4(I mean brings that Douglas passion as to be expected, and that intense blunt quality needed for the part. He brings this certain kind of sardonic ferocity that works quite effectively in showing the character's conviction to duty even in a bad cause. His one moment of emotional turmoil though is great, and I like how Douglas plays it as really this most painful emotion that he has to desperately and quickly put away lest he completely fall apart.)
Sordi & Niven - 4(Both are quite charming and bring this clashing energy well. I wish of course either had better material to work with, but the two's specific presences are quite welcome and on point here.)
Hudson - 4(Enjoyable again in playing the playboy with right Grant like flair where he does manage to make over confidence endearing to a degree. Then he is also fun in his ruse performance in putting on the degree of the fake man who is the opposite though still charming in his way.)
Nakadai - 4(As the other man Nakadai does do some fascinating moments here in presenting the state of the man who is self-hating to the point though of seemingly hating everything around him with a bitterness that he always presents as coming from a very real vulnerability. This enables the ending to be convincing because he shows a human harmed in turn the man then kind find any kind of reconciliation which Nakadai makes convincing.)
Mifune - 3.5(His physical presence is remarkable here still though he is obviously dubbed, Mifune does definitely add something through his specific energy he brings just through his wily face and unique manner.)
Rode & Helmuth - 3.5(Both charming in their ways, Rode in being quietly yet theoretically stiffly charming and Helmuth just being sort of modestly charming. They have a nice dynamic, nothing amazing, but endearing enough.)
Michel - 3.5(Charming enough I suppose.)
Detto - 3.5(Brings a naturally endearing energy and brings just the right honest sense of a youth just always seeming a little lost.)
Albertazzi - 3.5(Definitely not an acting film, but he certainly fulfills his end of things.)
Lancaster - 3(Less interesting Lancaster, but he's wholly fine here if unremarkable for the most part.)
Widmark - 3(Has the lamer part but he's far more consistent.)
Robertson - 3(A performance that is all over the place, some moments he seems quite striking others though he is extremely overcooked in playing the dark elements of the character. Much like the film there's moments where it seems like it could be something special, but you more of see the potential than any of the execution of it.)
Stewart - 3(Could actually go all the way to 2.5 on this one, as this is easily Stewart's worst performance. He's in a struggle with the wonky tone of the film, because when he gets to sell straight drama here he actually brings that Stewart power you'd expect, when he has to be really dark yet strangely comic (as clearly directed by Ford) though he really struggles in a way that is so rare for Stewart I have no hesitation to say it was all Ford's fault.)
Kerr - 2.5(As bland horror leads go there's worse, but he also fits right into the bland type.)
Nagato - 2.5(He's actually in general convincing but this is such a detrimental performance that solely keeps his film from greatness because he doesn't have a hint of charm in his presence. He's just so actively unlikable that he kind of sinks the main dynamic of the romance and of the potential dream, because who cares about this unlikable twerp?)
Beatty - 1(Atrocious Italian? accent yep, bland yep? Painfully uncharming? Wholly unconvincing? Yep. Just altogether terrible oh yeah.)
Lead:
1. Deborah Kerr - The Innocents
2. Emmanuella Riva - Leon Morin, Priest
3. Jitsuko Yoshimura - Pigs & Battleships - 5
4. Lea Massari - A Difficult Life - 4.5
5. Ruby Dee - A Raisin in The Sun - 4.5
6. Audrey Hepburn - Breakfast At Tiffany's
7. Jeanne Moreau - La Notte - 4.5
8. Hideko Takamine - Immortal Love - 4.5
9. Columba Dominguez - The Important Man - 4.5
10. Harriet Andersson - Through A Glass Darkly
11. Geraldine Page - Summer and Smoke
12. Ingrid Bergman - Goodbye Again
13. Natalie Wood - Splendor in the Grass
14. Marilyn Monroe - The Misfits
15. Anouk Aimée - Lola - 4
16. Hayley Mills - The Parent Trap - 4
17. Doris Day - Lover Come Back - 4
18. Silvia Pinal - Viridiana - 4
19. Susan Strasberg - Taste of Fear
20. Shirley MacLaine - The Children's Hour
Supporting:
1. Pamela Franklin - The Innocents
2. Rita Moreno - West Side Story
3. Michiyo Aratama - The End of Summer - 5
4. Claudia McNeil - A Raisin in the Sun - 4.5
5. Aparna Sen - Teen Kanya - 4.5
6. Nancy Kwan - Flower Drum Song - 4
7. Tamao Nakamura - The Human Condition III
8. Hideko Takamine - The Human Condition III
9. Kyoko Kishida - The Human Condition III
10. Flor Silvestre - The Important Man - 4
11. Dolores Dorn - Underworld U.S.A - 4
12. Yoko Tsukasa - The End of Summer
13. Maria Schell - The Mark
14. Daniela Rocco - Divorce, Italian Style
15. Gita Dey - Teen Kanya
16. Judy Garland - Judgment At Nuremberg
17. Setsuko Hara - The End of Summer
18. Patricia Neal - Breakfast At Tiffany's
19. Piper Laurie - The Hustler
20. Edie Adams - Lover Come Back
And:
Beatrice Kay - Underworld U.S.A
Barbara Steele - The Pit and the Pendulum -
Joanna Barnes - The Parent Trap
Christine Kaufman - Town Without Pity
Louis: Your 1930s cast & director for The Town.
Louis: If you haven't seen A Wife Confesses yet, here it is.
https://ok.ru/video/2051890416238
Brazinterma:
Song:
1. "Moon River" - Breakfast At Tiffany's
2. "Town Without Pity" - Town Without Pity
3. "The Young Ones" - The Young Ones
4. "Cruella De Vil" - 101 Dalmatians
5. "When The Girl In Your Arms IS The Girl in Your Heart" - The Young Ones
6. "Bachelor in Paradise" - Bachelor in Paradise
7. "Let's Get Together" - The Parent Trap
Score:
Need to research this one a bit more to construct my nominees as the contenders don't instantly stand out to me as they do most years other than Yojimbo which is my #1 with ease.
Poster:
1. Yojimbo
2. Breakfast at Tiffany's
3. Divorce Italian Style (Sunglasses)
4. Judgment At Nuremberg
5. La Notte
6. One Two Three
7. King of Kings
Editing:
1. Last Year At Marienbad
2. Yojimbo
3. The Human Condition III
4. Divorce Italian Style
5. Judgment At Nuremberg
6. The Innocents
7. One Two Three
Adapted Screenplay:
6. One Hundred and One Dalmatians
7. One Two Three
Original:
6. A Difficult Life
7. Last Year At Marienbad
Ensemble:
1. The Hustler
2. Judgment At Nuremberg
3. The Human Condition III
4. Yojimbo
5. The Innocents
6. The End of Summer
7. A Raisin in the Sun
Character of the year:
1. Cruella de Vil
2. Holly Golightly
3. Minnesota Fats
4. Anita
5. Fast Eddie Felson
6. The Samurai
7. Tony & Maria
Louis: Your #6-#10 for Director in 1961.
Louis: Your top 10 Tatsuya Nakadai performances, and your top 20 favorite acting moments/scenes of his.
Louis: Your rating for Geraldine Page in Summer and Smoke.
Thoughts on the Female performances.
Louis: Is there any chance of Walter Connolly going up for It Happened One Night? Rewatched it tonight, and I almost forgot that he helps the ending of the film come together as well as it does.
I’m drawing a blank, has Schell always been a five for Judgment at Nuremberg or is this a recent upgrade?
Michael: He went up last week.
Michael: He was a 4 initially, upgraded to a 4.5 during the first alternate rounds, and finally went up to a 5 when Louis rewatched it this time.
Louis: Your rating and thoughts on Vivien Leigh in The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone and your thoughts on the direction of Last Year in Marienbad.
Louis: Thoughts on Charlton Heston. And the Costume Design, Production Design, Score and Cinematography of El Cid.
Louis: I was rewatching Autumn Sonata the other day. Baffling how Ullmann only won the David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Actress, and wasn't nominated for any other awards.
Murray Melvin - A Taste of Honey
Alan Bates - Whistle Down the Wind
Martin Stephens - The Innocents
Jitsuko Yoshimura - Pigs and Battleships
Robert Burton - The Young Savages
Bonus: Russ Tamblyn - West Side Story
Louis: Do you intend to post your top 25s from years already covered after the bonus rounds are completed.
Louis: If you haven't given them already, your thoughts on the direction, screenplay and editing of The Human Condition III.
Bryan:
The Town 1930's directed by Raoul Walsh:
Doug MacRay: James Cagney:
Jem: Humphrey Bogart
Agent Frawley: Pat O'Brien
Claire: Claire Trevor
Stephe MacRay: Harry Carey
Fergus: Edmund Gwenn
Shaggy:
6. Shohei Imamura - Pigs and Battleships
7. Robert Rossen - The Hustler
8. Pietro Germi - Divorce Italian Style
9. Yasujirō Ozu - The End of Summer
10. Luis Bunuel - Viridiana
Marcus:
The top three are pretty interchangeable to me.
1. Harakiri
2. The Human Condition III
3. The Sword of Doom
4. Ran
5. The Human Condition I
6. Kagemusha
7. Yojimbo
8. Sanjuro
9. Kill!
10. The Human Condition II
1. Ryunosuke faces his demons - The Sword of Doom
2. Hanshiro finishes his story - Harakiri
3. A Soldier's Prayer - The Human Condition III
4. The Siege of the Third Castle - Ran
5. Ryunosuke sees the true master of the sword - The Sword of Doom
6. Killing the Superior - The Human Condition III
7. The Duel - Yojimbo
8. Hanshiro reveals his connection to the previous samurai - Harakiri
9. The Opening - Kagemusha
10. The final breakdown - Ran
11. Interrogation Breakdown - The Human Condition III
12. The Executions - The Human Condition I
13. Ryunosuke kills a legion of men - The Sword of Doom
14. Near Hallucinations - The Human Condition III
15. Final Charge - Kagemusha
16. Asking where certain samurai are - Harakiri
17. Catching the Samurai - Yojimbo
18. Talking to Lady Sue - Ran
19. The Duel - Sanjuro
20. Dispatching his lover - The Sword of Doom
Luke:
She's a 4.5.
Riva - (Her performance is so effortless, as she always is from what I've seen, and through that is so particularly welcoming us into her personal journey. Her narration is formal yet has this innate kind of warmth about it that brings us into her space with such intimacy. Her performance itself is a fascinating blend of saying exactly what she is thinking, through the narration, against what we see as she navigates her life. Riva brings such a potency to the contrast by revealing what is going on within her while also then us seeing her trying to come to terms with her space with this subtle potency. Her realizing every step of her journey with such authentic and emotional detail. As we begin with her as the cynical woman with simpler seeming obsessions that she plays around with as she ends up being challenged by her priest. And in this, Riva is pitch perfect in creating this natural combination between love, and attraction but also this sense of a certain deeper maturation of thought. Her performance carefully doesn't make this connection towards faith some simple idea, rather she is able to naturally realize the real truly complicated idea of what it means to her both in terms of her connection with her belief, but also her connection more bluntly with Leon. It is amazing because it is technically a big theoretically formal idea, though done with such ease and naturalism. Just completely beautiful work that carries the film magnificently, and maybe in a way only Riva quite could.)
Yoshimura - (A performance that does some particularly heavy lifting due to her less-than-stellar co-star, and she's so good I suppose it only adds all the more to the feeling "just dump that loser". Anyway Yoshimura, though even sells that romance of sorts though by fashioning within it such a palatable sense of need and desperation in every instance of it. She doesn't play it cynically however rather she shows the sense of someone needing to dream about something she can hold onto since she can hold onto little else. This is against as we see her working as a prostitute, where she is amazing in showing in these moments the fake performance of giving the "good time" and the particularly harrowing moments where this drops that is so painful to watch. Between all of this though she is outstanding in just being so very real in creating this quiet charm in her character outside of everything and when she is just trying to exist as best she can despite being mistreated by almost everyone. She brings you into investing so closely into her experience that it is wonderful to work that carries you through the story with a real emotional connection even as her male co-star fails to do that.)
Takamine - (What Takamine playing a woman with a complicated relationship? Why I never would have expected it. Anyway, while this is in her wheelhouse, she is most certainly good at it, and that is quite the wheelhouse in portraying such conflicting and contrasting emotions. In this case, presenting the woman in her moments of sincere earnest romantic need against the moments of bitter resignation in the life she seems forced into. She's particularly effective though in showing the changing and natural aging of her character throughout. Earning particularly this sort of semblance of reflection on it all is not as painful as you might expect, and Takamine conveys these emotions with such a natural balance between this sense of the history of pain with enough hope of something else.)
Dominguez - (Part of the struggle with the film is she is so charming in presenting the sort of dogged conviction and effort she is always put forth while her husband is basically worthless. Her performance though does make sense of things in such an understated manner where she creates the sense of just guaranteed loyalty within it while also creating this striking personal charm in her very modest way.)
Page - (Her performance is what carries the film and plays an interesting trick as well. When the film opens she very much fashions herself as the overtly religious spinster who is overbearing in her manner and her way of speaking. Page creates this front and creates essentially the image anyone would have of her from a first impression. Page though brings out her more known intensity of emotion in revealing the hidden depths of the character, both in terms of her more honest needs and desperation, but also a certain sense of the stronger idea of the character that she makes most striking while still keeping it internalized.)
Aimée - (Certainly captures effectively the different sides of the character who seems to be in this constant state of not quite choosing anyone in particular. She brings the right sense of I think sincerity in this though in presenting not as manipulation but rather just a natural sense of who this character is.)
Mills - (Just really charming with a great deal of energy in her performance. And I guess what is most notable about the work is that she does have convincing chemistry with herself, and while it isn't extremes different in the twins, rather it is creating this mutual grouping between the two. In this Mills excels and is just extremely endearing here.)
Day - (Pretty much what she did in Pillow Talk again, and once again endearing with wonderful chemistry and anti-chemistry with Hudson.)
Pinal - (A performance that is more so to represent a certain state rather than to create a firmer kind of empathy of any kind as is intended. She's more of being this consistent kind of state of the pious figure who is supposed to be as such. In this Pinal is effective in creating this figure who is more of reacted upon than interacted with and in turn, she too more of has this distance. Again all with clear purpose per the direction of the film.)
Strasberg - (Fine sort of horror lead in terms of doing all the expected reactions and such. Of course, the requirements of the character make this in a way meaningless and it is technically all about the contrast between her in the rest of the film and the ending. She is good in both but limited it is.)
Aratama - (Interesting to see her play such a different role from her performance in Human Condition as the daughter who is most aware of their dad and is the most cutting really in her regulation of the family. Aratama is fantastic because she is very funny here while also being incredibly incisive in this comedy in presenting her as always not being particularly convinced by her father's antics. She balances this all though with such a natural lived-in quality that makes the humor as blunt as it is at times, feel so natural to the situation. It is particularly beautifully lived in work that just convinces you of everything about this person and especially from her you sense the family dynamics. And I love her sort perhaps most practical of them all in a way that is particularly endearing.)
Sen - (Her performance is a lot of fun in that she manages to show both the charm and challenge of the character in equal measure. Showing the sort of wild energy but doing it in a way that is wholly endearing even if you see the struggle. Her performance keeps from ever being anything close to caricature, instead creating the sense of the convincing specific maturation and connection that is created via that maturation that ends up being quite moving in its way. Sen in particular has unique chemistry with Chatterjee that brings the right sense of what creates the gap, but also what makes one want to see them together.)
Kwan - (The character isn't the most complex but she is just having so much fun here it is not to have fun with her. She's extremely endearing and charismatic in the role that just really steals every second she's onscreen. She has really such a remarkable force in her performance and such incredible charisma. It is still a relatively limited part, and she's even dubbed, but she makes the most of it through the sheer will of work)
Silvestre - (She makes a striking "other woman" having just the right kind of allure that she builds along with this considerable charm, which always shows her appeal even as you hate Mifune's character for going along with it. Her presence though is always remarkable and creates a proper sense of her sway, however.)
Dorn - (There are limits to her, however, there is something very moving in her performance in creating such a palatable sense of desperation but also a sincere appreciation of the woman who thinks she might have a way out of her troubled existence. Of course, this is to the point that her performance makes you extra hate Robertson's character as she constantly mistreats her because Dorn brings such a natural sincerity.)
Tsukasa & Hara - (Both are good in particular in creating their dynamics as two women both expected to marry however one past a relationship and one never had such a marriage. The two then bring so much natural sense of chemistry between the close sisters but also present each of their specific wills towards expectation in their own ways that bounce off each other in such a way that is especially dynamic.)
Dey - (Quite expertly plays the concerned mother and delivers well on the expected expectations of sort of warmth combined with this more teaching qualities.)
Adams - (A very fun "Blonde" performance, just largely that, but she does it well.)
Kay - (Brings the right earnest sense of outrage in moments and certainly needed warmth within the often very cold proceedings.)
Steele - (A fun bit of insanity from her as we get mainly just different shades but in each shade she creates a distinct sense of this particular style, each that is quite striking in its way.)
Barnes - (A very fun sort of pompous "bad" love interest/usurper. I liked the moments more than anything when she plays a bit more of an overtly villainous quality and has the right type of arch qualities in those moments.)
Kaufman - (Gives just a moving portrayal of the fear and just sort of boxed-in quality of someone who everyone has some opinion or angle of yet few seem to present her with any genuine empathy. Kaufman is very moving in creating this state of being emotionally trapped and slowly destroyed by this existence.)
Tahmeed:
Maybe.
Razor:
Leigh - 3(As with much of her non-Oscar winning performances, she's so far from them that you kind of forget it is the same actress. Leigh's goes from okay in a very stuffy kind of way that struggles not to really just fall into the melodrama. She never manages to pull you into her state in a very practical way, or with any proper sense of really what she's going through. She could be worse, she could be Beatty, but she really can't elevate anything her and gets pulled down by it more often than not.)
Marienbad's direction by Resnais is the whole of the piece which are these fragments of ideas that are crafted into a singular piece by Resnais's work. Work that is about being extremely tangible while also distant, and in that sense of the dream you now experienced can quite place it all together. And in that sense, Resnais use of his setting and the cinematography isn't typical glamor, though these are some nifty locales, rather it is the way he frames them as aspects of an idea, aspects of an event, or an interaction. You know wholly what it is referring to yet not entirely and crafting that quality that brings you into this mindset. Resnais particularly effectively uses editing to create this particular flow, amplified by the sound/music design, and more than anything he does what is essential in making a piece that is transfixing in its a mystery. A mystery that is of the mind not of the body however and Resnais makes you the explorer of it, and is fascinating as he makes something that is cohesive while being obtuse at the same time. A true balancing act that seems effortless yet needed to be so precise to work as it does.
Luke:
Heston is fine but Cid is so vaguely drawn he just doesn't have much to work with beyond just bringing his typical presence.
The costume design I suppose is where cohesion of direction can make something great or falter a bit and i guess that is a failing of Mann. As teh costumes don't really build upon one another and I suppose that is a weakness of them as they just kind of mix together in a way particualrly compared to say what you see in Ben-Hur in that regard. The costumes, which have a best a vague accuracy, are certainly colorful, some standout (like Loren's dresses) but tehy very much look like costumes rather than expanding character like truly great costumes.
Speaking of the production design is in the same line, it certainly is very grand and just big. And it certainly isn't bad, but it isn't all that distinct either. The designs serve their purpose but the sets aren't all that memorable at any point. They are convincing, they are large, but they don't have that extra sense of character or period even to make it something truly great.
Krasker is at his best in black and white, as in color he goes for a general vibrancy to be sure, though not overly so, and generally is well composed, though not overly so. And that is what we get here as it certainly does capture the spectacle more than fine, but again nothing about it is more than that.
The score is interesting in that I think I like it more outside of the context of the film, although I think that speaks more to the lack of strong characters that prevented the appropriate investment. Rozsa's working definitely within the riffs and ideas he did so masterfully with Ben-Hur, and I wouldn't say as masterfully, but...it is still pretty damn beautiful at times and certainly grand without a doubt. And I think that is the biggest takeaway, is you have these small scale motifs with the really grand orchestral pieces that balance each other out in a way that does make the score particularly rich, again not as good as Hur's but it is very good even as a "b-side" type of score for that film.
8000's:
I think that's a case of Bergman swallowing all the praise, and to be fair she was deserving of it (I do ponder if she could've pulled off the win if she hadn't won for the Orient Express), leaving Ullmann's more reserved work unfortunately forgotten. Of course it probably didn't help that that it actually got kind of muted responses by some as a film on the whole, though honestly that seemed to me like taking the male Bergman for granted at that point.
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