Lead Michel Simon in Panique Charles Boyer in Cluny Brown Michael Redgrave in The Captive Heart Franco Interlenghi in Shoeshine Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre in The Verdict
Supporting Alastair Sim in Green For Danger Claude Rains in Deception Pierre Brasseur in Gates Of The Night
Anonymous: Premiered in Paris on 19 December 1946. If Louis decides to put it in 47 then I'll replace him with either Vincent Price in Dragonwyck or Boris Karloff in Bedlam.
Colman - 4(For both films it really is just him being charming and making not always great dialogue sing far more than most actors. Really just about the ease he had on screen when stiffness quite frankly was the norm.)
Ayres - 4(Interesting contrasting performance where he plays a hardbitten and already retired gangster. Theoretically mistcast but there is something about the youthful intensity that Ayres brings that does offer an interesting variation. Combine that with his ability to genuinely bring some nuanced and powerful emotions, particularly in his reaction to an unexpected death that Ayres really suggests a great deal of potential particularly if he had a great script. As is, an imperfect situation but he is compelling.)
Bartheless - 4(Very much delivers just a leading man energy early on with the right sense of heroic determination with a bit of a paternal manner towards his fellow pilots. When his jobs switches though Bartheless is also good in showing the weight of the situation fairly effectively, building up towards his final moments where it is mostly silent, fittingly for him, and he’s quite good in conveying the sense of determination. There’s the occasional overly dramatic delivery but mostly pretty good.)
Marx - 4(Just particularly good material for him here, especially his alternative delivery in his one monologue where he keeps cutting off the women to suddenly turn deadpan which I found the funniest bit in the film.)
Diessl - 4(Many scenes initially are taking in the weight of the situation where he is compelling in presenting that arduousness though maybe not as memorable as Ayres in the transformation to an aged man in youth. His best scene though is his coming home where he delivers on the bit of insanity of the moment of a man not quite knowing what to do but bringing a vicious force that is menacing but also very honest in its emotion. Then has a good moment in just delivery of his final moment of reflection.)
Powell - 3.5(Not premium Powell. He’s good, you get a degree of his charm but he’s not at his Thin Man Powers here. Mostly a presence performance but not on the level of say Colman comparatively.)
Saitō - 3.5(More so about general vibes where he manages to carry a combination between this certain comic levity of trying out the tricks with certain moments of a degree of pathos.)
Chaney - 3.5(He has a strong presence though really uninteresting material. Even his grandmother routine delivers with the right mischievousness. Sadly the script is terrible but he finds bits of general nuance in presenting the less malicious parts of the character.)
Cagney - 4(He delivers on not his most interesting gangster role but makes it look easy. Has a strong presence that just makes every line sing, while also managing to convey the secret affair of his character largely between the lines effectively. Particularly in the way Cagney portrays genuine care for his friend even while presenting as genuine fear at thinking what his friend might do when he finds out the truth. Strong work that you wish the film had allowed him to take it even further.)
Hamilton - 3.5(Interesting to see Commissioner Gordon being quite a bit more confrontational when giving out missions. Anyways brings a fierce intensity that occasionally borders on too much but overall is effective in presenting a man driven to a slight madness in the weight of his job. Hamilton makes the most of certain quieter moments of the detachment and distance of the man from the rest. Managing to accentuate the humanity in those moments, and his later scenes where even in the overall harsh demeanor he does suggest empathy he has to force down.)
Beery - 3.5(One of the few times where he manages to actually be a bit charming with his whole loutish demeanor. There’s something less overt about him here, maybe because apparently Dressler didn’t take his nonsense, but either way results in Beery actually coming across in a way that works. Where his manner enlivens the character rather than getting in the way.)
Horton - (His typical thing but a good part for it.)
Actress:
1. Norma Shearer - The Divorcee - 4.5 2. Greta Garbo - Anna Christie - 4.5 3. Marie Dressler - Min and Bill - 4.5 4. Joan Crawford - Paid - 4 5. Greta Grabo - Romance - 4 6. Loretta Young - The Devil to Pay - 4 7. Emiko Yagumo - That Night’s Wife - 4 8. Nancy Carroll - The Devil’s Holiday - 3.5 9. Ann Harding - Holiday - 3.5 10. Barbara Stanwyck - Ladies of Leisure - 3.5
Supporting Actress:
1. Marie Dressler - Anna Christie - 4 2. Mary Astor - Holiday - 3.5 3. Jean Harlow - Hell’s Angels - 3.5 4. Myrna Loy - The Devil To Pay - 3.5 5. Kinuyo Tanaka - I Flunked But… - 3.5 6. Claire Luce - Up the River - 3.5 7. Marie Prevost - Paid - 3.5 8. Hedda Hopper - Holiday - 3.5 9. Florence Eldridge - The Divorcee - 3.5 10. Hanna Hoessrich - Westfront 1918 - 3
Brazinterma:
The song is good at five.
For score I REALLY listed more than enough, given 3 of the films listed are essentially “best title music”.
Poster:
1. All Quiet on the Western Front 2. Prix de beauté 3. Feet First 4. Westfront 1918 5. The Light of Western Stars
Editing:
1. All Quiet on The Western Front 2. The Dawn Patrol 3. Westfront 1918 4. Earth 5. L’Age D’Or
Screenplays, especially Original, were already stretching in my top five.
Cast:
1. All Quiet on the Western Front 2. The Devil To Pay 3. The Dawn Patrol 4. Westfront 1918 5. Anna Christie
Louis: I didn't expect Jannings being dropped to 11 (im actually watching Blue Angel as of writing). Hope Bogart gets reviewed for The Big Sleep next cause its honestly about time.
Matt: didnt now he covered it in his Maltese review (possibly because i cant find it). I will say from what i remember from watching Big Sleep years ago, I did find Bogart's work to be more unique in comparison to his equally brilliant Sam Spade; mostly due to how different The Big Sleep is.
The Bogey turn, I want to see get reviewed some day, is In a Lonely Place. I personally really love that movie and that turn. I really liked his and Grahame's chemistry, and how that arc(or lack of) unfolds. I believe Louis is not a fan.
Louis: What are some acting races in Oscar history where you feel the strength of the winner's film played the most important part in securing their win, rather than quality of performance?
If you haven't answered this before, which among the current actors and actresses with multiple Oscar wins, do you feel are most likely to win at least one more statue.
Marcus: If Sean Penn can do it, anyone, that's not retired already, can do it. but man, can I tell you the one actor that is an Oscar winner but I hope wins his 2nd before curtains close..... I really hope Pacino pulls off something like The Irishman again, and gets his second Oscar for that. It's genuinely heartbreaking that Scent is his only Oscar. God, he should have won in 2019 over fucking Cliff Booth. What a load of crap.
Kampers - 3.5(Slightly more comedic quality to his performance as kind of the wise soldier. Makes enough of an impact in bringing the energy combined with a hidden exasperation within his slightly off-beat delivery and manner.)
Takada - 3(Wholly fine but doesn’t really leave too much of an impact beyond the general surface needs of the part.)
Bogart - 3(His presence isn’t all there but part of it is there. Mostly he just needs to stand around reciting inane dialogue so he can’t do too much but he’s good with what he has.)
Tracy - 3(Also much inane dialogue and he as a wacky gangster is a strange combination. He brings kind of energy that kind of works but also kind of doesn’t. He’s a bit all over the place like the film but mostly better than bad.)
Buchanan - 3(Not quite leading man material in terms of his general presence, but there is a certain charm to him. He also has effective singing chemistry with his co-star that makes up for his somewhat stilted line deliveries.)
March - 3(Doesn’t get to do much interesting here though he’s completely serviceable in being just enough within the scheme of the film.)
Marion - 3(Slightly too big for his own good that gets in the way of the more dramatic parts. When he’s just trying to be the overly eager dad his performance works better but again when the shift happens it just falls apart a bit.)
Ames - 2.5(Doesn’t quite have the leading man energy to carry things much. He is a little too formal and theatrical in an overly refined delivery way. He has some okay moments but the stiff ones add up to more overall.)
Clive - 2.5(Basically the same performance as Frankenstein, which worked there because he was a mad scientist, as a mad soldier feels like the same over the top delivery and just after a while doesn’t work so well. Occasionally in moments that ask for more of a mania he does have a certain effectiveness but overall it does seem like he maybe fell on a certain approach.)
Charlia - 2.5(Uncharming husband where manly needs to make some different forms of grimaces eventually. Leaves little impression overall.)
Cantor - 2.5(He certainly is trying to the point you see where maybe this could’ve worked on stage where he could be fed by the audience, here though he’s just consistently stilted within the quiet space of the film screen.)
Graves - 2(Dull love interest who is dull.)
Morris - 2(Dull love interest who is dull)
Holmes - 2(Dull love interest who is dull.)
Barrymore - 2(Totally wacky all over the place love interest and he’s Captain Ahab? What??? Anyway Barrymore is just going all ridiculous here in a way that in no way plays to his strengths as a performer. Rather than righting the ship of the bad adaptation he goes right into its ridiculous choices and is ridiculous himself as a result.)
Gordon - 1.5(Super dull love interest is super dull)
Garrick - 1.5(Dull actor is dull)
Brendel - 1(With Canton maybe I could see how his shtick worked, with Brendel it is so immediately unfunny and grating I struggle to see how it ever worked. Plays the note of wacky foreigner in a way that is not for a moment endearing or enjoyable.)
Harris:
Finished Pitt Season 2, more of the same in a way that works though I thought Robby’s arc felt a little disjointed at times. Caught up with Invincible, which consistently works, particularly season 4 and its multi-episode arc that absolutely earned its taking over the narrative fully. I started watching Spider-Noir which I enjoyed enough to keep watching.
Shearer - (Shearer finds maybe the ideal role for her performance style that feels very fitting to the position and nature of the character. Shearer finds so much nuance within the character of the titular divorcee consistently. As even the early scenes of being swept up in the love of it Shearer goes for more complication in creating the sense of unhappiness that is pushed back by the seeming success of finding a greater reason for life. When the progression of the plot happens Shearer is able to articulate so well this specific societal betrayal where she can only contain her anguish in a certain way and express it in a certain fashion. Shearer does so that meets that need while also allowing the audience fully in on it. She creates then as captivating a sense of the willful expression as she decides to also move on and portrays specifically this determination within that independence. Sadly the film falls into the requirements of the time. Shearer does her best to sell the final bit but everything he does up until that point suggests a far more compelling ending than we get.)
Garbo - Anna Christie (You can sense a certain degree of rust from the switch from silence to sound. Garbo isn’t the complete perfection of her later work in sound, but she’s still pretty close. There’s just a few moments here and there where you feel very much trying slightly too hard with the performance. Having said that she still just has such a tremendous presence here particularly in her early scenes of the woman just strangely owning her state in life even while she wallows in it. Garbo fills her up with a genuine history, something so frequently lacking in many performances, Garbo tells you where Anna came from before we get going. Within the progression of the story is where you have some of those less captivating moments, though she’s still consistently effective and never loses presence even as she needs to keep selling the same note of distress over her past. Something the film sadly gets stuck on in a not particularly interesting way though Garbo does her best to find what nuance she can.)
Garbo - Romance - (Technically maybe the more consistent of the two performances although less is asked from her. As Garbo mainly needs to be confident and more than a little flirty. Garbo though is wonderful and quite alluring in her way. Although there exists a problem because you do ponder how such a fascinating woman is interested in this annoying dullard, and the whole setup of her needing to “repent” is horribly realized. Garbo honestly makes the best choice by basically ignoring the misguided plotline and just being genuine within herself and succeeds to the degree that she can.)
Dressler - Min And Bill - (She has a great atypical presence and here actually shares a strong chemistry with Beery where they are both people very much owning their lot in life. Dressler’s wonderful in the sense of power she brings to her character and that innate strength of someone who knows exactly who she is without apolozing for it. She elevates every scene no matter how tired as written she remains dynamic by bringing so much reality within her work. Even when the film tilts to the melodramatic Dressler only ups the ante, completely delivering on that moment by just finding the combination of emotional empathy and disgust in her extreme reaction to the threat. Then in the final sequence she’s great in silently saying every single word of love but also regret in needing to sacrifice herself for that love.)
Anna Christie - (Only has a few scenes and honestly it is basically the extreme comical reverse of her work in Min and Bill. As here we get her as a far bigger drunk who just sort of wanders within her space. Dressler not focusing on reality but very much a slightly tinged absurdity of the type. Dressler delivers on this and brings a much needed degree of levity in every single one of her reactions. Bringing to life a completely different character, who could’ve felt exactly the same, and showing her great ability as a character actor just as she technically did as an unexpected leading lady.)
Crawford - (She’s good in her first scene in showing genuine distress and creating the backbone of humanity. Then she is great in the middle section in bringing the hardened determination of the changed woman. Crawford brings a fascinating combination between intense manipulation with a very specific cold allure that is so powerful. Sadly the film chooses to push her aside and basically turn her into a hysterical woman for scene after scene afterwards. Going from a possible 5 to a 4 thanks to just bad writing she has to contend with. A shame because she is truly great in the first half.)
Young - (Interesting just to see her in a very different presence from what she would be presented as later in her career. She’s just so much more fluid and open in this performance it is pretty fascinating comparatively. Beyond that this is really about the chemistry she shares with Colman, which is rather considerable and splendid in their quietly disarming way.)
Yagumo - (Within her silent work is able to convey the different states from the very concerned mother, to a change in a slightly more grit within seeing her husband’s choices but still going along with them, then in her interactions with the inspector where she goes from moments of strong empathy to great intensity with a natural ease and grace.)
Marcus:
These choices have nothing to do with my feelings on the performances rather if the strength of the film was unquestionably essential for the win.
Michael B. Jordan - Sinners Jean Dujardin - The Artist (Though I’d argue his performance was fundamental to making it such a major player but his lack of name recognition makes him fair for a spot). Kevin Spacey - American Beauty Charlton Heston - Ben-Hur Bing Crosby - Going My Way Frances McDormand - Nomadland Jane Fonda - Coming Home George Chakiris - West Side Story Martin Balsam - A Thousand Clowns Jason Robards - Julia Troy Kotsur - CODA Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton Jamie Lee Curtis - Everything Everywhere All At Once (Though really because Michelle Williams didn’t run supporting)
Some might say Russell Crowe in Gladiator however he was redhot with the academy regardless, and his arguably closest competition was a 2 time winner.
For the second question, I will always say you never know because before they won their second, you’d never guess Zellweger and Brody would’ve done it.
But just not to cop out and considering where their career is now:
Emma Stone (Producing at the very least least) DDL (If he puts a concerted effort for a better return) Cate Blanchett (Given she almost had a third for Tar)
Regarding Disclosure Day, the flaws are pretty obvious. The two character arcs that exist, one just doesn’t get there, the other feels far too simplistic in the attempt at covering a deeper theme, of course deeper themes in general are pretty light here. There are some dodgy effects, and forgetting even arcs, none of the characters are all that memorable either, really just a set of powers. Having said that, Spielberg delivers on his end when it comes to the Spielbergian thrills, even including a repeat from Duel, and I’m pretty sure with the same set of shots, though with naturally an upping the ante after a certain point, though my favorite bit might’ve actually bit a technically low key one of a visualization of an alien legend involving Nixon and Jackie Gleason. I wouldn’t put this up with great Spielberg, falls more so in Spielberg where you can see his magic, even if the film is overall far from it.
Blunt - 3.5 O’Connor - 3.5 Firth - 2.5(I feel villain mode really doesn’t play to his strengths) Hewson - 2.5 Domingo - 3 Russell - 3 Lloyd-Hughes - 2 Marvel - 3.5
I believe Disclosure Day will suffer the same fate as War of the Worlds; at the time of its release, opinions were quite divided, but in a few years it will be positively reevaluated to the point of being placed among Spielberg's best films.
Louis: thoughts on this 1970s version of Bad Times at the El Royale?
Father Flynn: Art Carney Darlene Sweet: Diana Ross Emily Summerspring: Madeline Khan Sullivan: Michael Murphy Miles Miller: Brad Dourif Billy Lee: Steve McQueen
BuscemiFan: It's still not "considered" among his best work. People don't call it a bad movie, but they don't call it a great one either. Yes, nowadays it's more beloved than in 05 (that Cruise Razzie nom is ludicrous), but show me a Spielberg ranking that has that in the top 10?
Harris: To be honest with you, I only watched Eccleston and Tenant's portrayals of the character. I did see Matt Smith's Van Gogh episode and John Simm's return as The Master during Capaldi's run.
Hello Louis and folks! Let's talk about some 1930 movie translations in non-English speaking countries. The names that were in Brazil were:
All Quiet on the Western Front = No News on the Front / aka Nothing New on the Front Westfront 1918 = War! Scourge of God Animal Crackers = The Jokers Another Fine Mess = Confusion in Profusion Danger Lights = Escaping Danger The Doorway to Hell = Paths to Hell The Silver Horde = The Silver Shoal The Big House = The Prison Just Imagine = 1980s costumes
Louis: What are your thoughts on the "Flying Trapeze" sequence in It Happened One Night? I've always loved it as a sincere burst of joy, especially because Gable and Colbert seem so genuinely delighted in the moment.
Louis: Obviously subject to change when Social Reckoning is released, but do you think it's a coincidence that Strong's approach seems to work better when he's working with a character based on, or inspired by a real person? Was thinking of The Apprentice, Chicago 7, and Succession in a way.
Tim: That's secondary to the combative tone of Mr. Mustin's comment, but FWIW, Cahiers du Cinema and Kiyoshi Kurosawa consider it among the best film of its decade.
Important note on Disclosure Day ratings, Blunt is the 2.5, Hewson is the 3.5.
8000’s:
The production design is very much within the realm of the style of the period as depicted at that time but with the knowingness of shooting the film in color. So very much emphasizing added color overtly to those period sets in a way that is flamboyant to a point, but I don’t think it goes too far to become too much. Finding a way to essentially show off while still convincing towards the period.
The cinematography too mainly seems in service of just emphasizing the colors more than anything else in the PD and costume design. And I would say it is successful in lighting and composing towards that emphasis effectively. Finding a certain spatial balance that keeps it from overwhelming. Would I describe ever as my favorite cinematography from a color japanese film of the period, no, but essentially it is a good overt use of the form.
Anonymous:
Carney would be a great fit as he could be warm, have a certain edge about him yet also quietly heartbreaking as honestly shown by his three best 70’s performances. I haven’t seen enough of Ross’s work to say for sure, but certainly could do the singing. Khan I don’t quite see as obviously, would be a very different style for her. Murphy has the right presence for the government type. Dourif is absolutely perfect in every way. McQueen could be fascinating in such a role.
Tahmeed:
An example of what makes a great film great. As plot wise the need for the scene is for the bus driver to get distracted to cause the problem for the bus and for the other man to get his suspicions on the situation. To realize that though it is just such brilliant scene of communal joy particularly where it is a moment between Gable and Colbert that isn’t direct yet wholly shared with just how natural the joy in them, but also the crowd within the energy where you see everyone really absorbing it together leading up to the driver’s mistake that feels natural by how the moment was built to with such ease.
Carroll - (Kind of in-between in terms of actresses of the period. There’s some of that theatrical and stiff bits, yet there're other moments where she does come to life properly. It’s a bit more of a push pull here than one would love. She has good moments in creating the nature of her character, but the more moralizing the less good she is. She’s overall inconsistent but on the whole decent.)
Harding - (Overall she is fine in hitting all the general notes fine. Although you just compare her to Hepburn in the same role and she suffers in every comparison. Harding’s work is quite not ready for cinema even though she’s never overtly bad, she’s just never overtly good either. She’s not quite there in a consistent way.)
Stanwyck - (In general it is just her presence and ability to emote. Overall though we do get a bit more of the theatrics in moments where she doesn’t own the melodrama rather falls victim to it in just playing up those notes in a way that emphasizes their falseness.)
Tahmeed: War of the Worlds was not really panned, was it? At the time people were way more fixated on Cruise's personal life and dragging him down any chance they'd get. I think even his outstanding performance in Collateral wasn't well received.
I would say that is a decent theory, however his work in Springsteen does get in the way a bit.
Shaggy:
6. Ernst Lubitsch - Monte Carlo 7. Josef von Sternberg - The Blue Angel 8. Augusto Genina - Prix de Beaute 9. James Parrott - Another Fine Mess 10. Victor Heerman - Animal Crackers
Anonymous:
Both are highlights of just what Griffith brought consistently to the role. The first scene being really his success at creating the calmer manipulation that seemingly has more genuine emotion in there yet still manipulation regardless. Griffith manages to balance though the sense of Silver’s selfish desire with a genuine sense of real need for his reason for being so adamant in his intention. The second scene is right back to pure emotional pesting manipulation and great as always as such where his smug smile just bites into a moment so well consistently. In this instance the subversion works with Daniel saying something Silver can’t fight back against specifically and his reaction conveying that perfectly.
Unknown:
While the individual perspective of a film is subjective, the actual overall public perception is objective to a certain extent. War of the Worlds was not panned upon release, its RT and Metacritic score (which the reviews are mostly from its original release), were both positive, not exceedingly positive but definitely positive. Conversely however the metrics of audience perception, imdb (which grants a combination of then and now perspective), letterboxd (which is a modern audience perspective) and rottentomatoes audience score, all show a more middling to slightly negative overall view of the film. Even its wholly at the time cinemascore of B+, which really just measures general perception of did they get what they wanted, supports a people who got mostly what they wanted but didn’t exceed expectations by any measure. More anecdotally, which is why I am listing it last, the general reaction I saw at the time in 2005 was “worth watching but not great”. Honestly it didn’t go from panned to being considered a misunderstood masterpiece by most. It seems to have gone from Mixed leaning positive, to just mixed in terms of general public perception.
Cruise was generally well praised for Collateral at the time of its release.
Louis: I was the unknown who was talking about reception to Cruise's performance in Collateral. Used the wrong account. Yeah, I might have overplayed the negative reception to Cruise's performance there. I guess, I saw some reviews from the time of it's release. Some described his performance as stiff and robotic, which I found absolutely baffling..... Which brings me to one more thing. Can I ask you a for a rewatch of Jerry Maguire?? I mentioned it last year, about how much I love that performance. But I guess, now I should request you for a rewatch.
Matt: None taken. But responding to Anonymous's enthusiasm with blunt negativity rather than, for instance, asking them why they feel that way, read as being dismissive.
Tahmeed: I wasn't pushing for "every panned film by a great director" to be re-evaluated, it's unclear to me how you got that impression.
It wasn't blunt negativity (I didn't even say anything bad, and I could've) I just said its not one of his best, and its not. I'm done with this conversation now, no hard feelings.
We used to be a proper comment section, with someone getting swore at every year. Some of the older comment sections from 10+ years ago are absolute goldmines of weirdness though.
Louis and everyone else: Your favorite songs for walking/working out? Doesn't have to be limited to film songs.
"Purple Rain" (amazing to kill 8 minutes on a treadmill, while also just being an extraordinary song of course) "Under Pressure" "Lose Yourself" "And We Danced" - The Hooters Also basically the entirety of Rumors, Hamilton Act I, or the Drive soundtrack.
Tony: Just the occasional review which would have overly passionate advocates or haters for an actor, like Leslie Howard in Berkeley Square. Or when someone comments something ridiculous many years after the review (Brendan Gleeson in the Guard, or the Boris Karloff hater), but Louis usually deletes the ones that are excessive.
Louis: Thoughts on this extended version of Obi-Wan’s scene from Return of the Jedi? Granted, it’s done comedically, but it was way longer than I expected. Skip to 55:15 and end at 1:03:08. https://youtu.be/G7aqI1JF0OI?is=WPVA_u0-LCrfl4IX
Also on topic of weird comments, I think my favorite is some guy who was mocking the idea of Jean-Claude Van Damme getting a 5 for JCVD, beacuse "wow golly gee, other cinema legends have gotten lower scores for better performances, yet you gave Van Damme of all people a 5, hell has frozen over".
Yeah, as if one of the best things about films isn't exemplified by how even the most unexpected actor can deliver a great performance when utilized correctly.
Hi Louis and everyone, I have a question: how come you don’t really like De Niro, given that he’s tied for fifth place in your nominations tally with Gene Hackman and Tatsuya Nakadai?
Anonymous: it's not that he's not liked but after maybe Heat (1995), there was a 25 year period where he wasn't as invested as we would've liked him to be and it has hurt his legacy to an extent compared to say Hackman and Duvall.
I certainly wouldn’t mind re-watching Jerry Maguire at some point.
Robert:
Exposition dump, with the emphasis on the dump part, is why Obi-Wan would feel he’d need to spell out everything about Leia and the plan in general seems more than a little labored in the extent of it all. Although in a way maybe a sign of some of what the prequels would be dogged by particularly since nothing in the scene was done to hide the exposition really or make it smoother, just a long HERE IT IS.
Lucas:
Chatterton - 1.5(Her performance really is just a bad accent where she manages to be both stilted and over the top, which is always a nasty combination. There isn’t a moment where you believe her in this role or anything more than just an actor hamming it to the hills for the duration of the film. A performance that only succeeds in reminding you how false her acting is every second she is doing it in.)
Astor - (The thankless role of the film anyways, however I liked that Astor managed to at least not play into just the objective which was to break up eventually. Rather Astor presented her initial scenes as genuine with only eventually showing the break later on as just a natural realization of different values. Although still thankless did what she could.)
Harlow - (Really just a pure presence performance that stands out all the more because she is so alive compared to her co-stars who comparatively are so bland. When she comes onscreen suddenly you see someone present and genuine, even though I never thought the role itself allowed her to go in too interesting of directions.)
Loy - (As the other woman in this instance is nice that she plays it totally as a charming character in her own right where Loy offers her presence in a little more of a mischievous role. The film sadly doesn’t give her much beyond that but she’s good with what she has.)
Tanaka - (Really doesn’t have much other than to convey being forlorn and loving a few different moments. She does that but this isn't her most challenging of roles.)
Luce - (Really this is just for her first scene with Bogart where there is a real honesty between to the point I hoped that the film would be about them in a special way. Sadly it goes nowhere and her character just repeats the same beat to diminishing returns. Her first scene is good though in showing the sense of insecurity and shame combined with the hope presented by empathy.)
Prevost - (A bit underutilized as most supporting performers were at the time, she brings a bit of mischievous fun in playing her “part” near the end by just owning the impish quality about it even though again it doesn't add up to too much.)
Hopper - (Brings a nice energy to her bit which again just is more than most can say. Don't get too much beyond just that energy though.)
Eldridge - (Offers at least some semblance of character in her reactions conveying internalized thought…though the film doesn’t really explore that she bothered to do it.)
Hoessrich - (Just slightly big I think, but I think overall her reaction that isn’t exact shock or typical shame but rather an unusual combination exuding circumstance does paint an interesting contrast.)
Anonymous:
I don’t dislike De Niro, he’s just not one of my personal favorites, mainly because for me there’s a bigger contrast between locked in De Niro, where he is one of the true greats, and less engaged or unengaged De Niro.
Robert:
Yes, yes. As her performance made me feel a lot more than the overall sequence did in terms of the main characters or performances.
Louis and Luke : when you talk about a "less engaged De Niro", are you specifically referring to post‑2000 De Niro? If so, isn’t it normal that he started to get a bit lazy here and there after turning 60? Because to me, post‑2000 De Niro has still shown many flashes of brilliance (with Scorsese, O. Russell, Everybody’s Fine, The Intern, Men of Honor, etc.) I’m not saying this period is anywhere close to De Niro’s prime but he has occasionally displayed a fair amount of his talent (the peak of that late‑career resurgence might be The Irishman and Killers of the Flower Moon)
An often repeated notion, best repeated by Timothy Olyphant with Conan, of yes the camera requiring very different acting from the stage also requiring different acting.
Ytrewq:
Essentially using Spalding Gray's delivery method with Demme's direction/editing of Gray but to tell the story of Kinski, which is kind of amusing here but imperfect overall, though the repeated "bummer" was funny. The story itself pretty much your average Kinski story, including yet another instance of someone legitimately wanting to murder him.
Anonymous:
I don't think we need to excuse phoning it in. Many older actors don't start phoning it in (e.g. Max von Sydow) at any point in their career.
Louis: so my two cents on it. In case of De Niro, it's not like he is phoning it in high quality movies and actively ruining them in that post 2000s run of his.... I think of De Niro's situation as someone who has so vigorously and so consistently put so many great and physically demanding performances over a 20+ years that he kind of shutdown after Jackie Brown. But instead of retiring, does some light hearted hogwash. Age does play a factor. Day Lewis kinda retired around that phase of his career toof
Louis: You gave Marlene Dietrich in The Blue Angel a 4. Would you still give her that rating? If so, where would you put her in your top 10, and if not what rating would you give her now?
Again that's fine if you feel that way, but that's simply why he's not a personal favorite for me, though I do think he's a great actor. But just like personal favorite films those are specific to the person and should be specific to everyone. If someone's favorite actor is De Niro that's perfectly fine choice to me.
ruthiehenshallfan99:
MacDonald - 3.5(I wouldn't say it is all that different from her other roles of this ilk other than not working with Chevalier, though I would say the level of chemistry with her co-star is on a similar level here. As usual I think MacDonald is a good but not great comedienne working with those more comedic aspects, and obviously can sing more powerfully delivering in that sense as per usual.) Lucas:
Honestly I don't know. That ranking was based on a very long ago viewing of the film. I would need to re-watch it.
Louis: What are your thoughts on Louis Wolheim in Danger Lights and The Silver Horde, Walter Huston in Abraham Lincoln, Laurel and Hardy in Another Fine Mess, Emil Jannings in The Blue Angel, and Claudette Colbert in The Big Pond if you remember them?
Louis, do you remember if you've already given your thoughts on the scene from Sentimental Value where their faces morph together? If not, can I have them?
95 comments:
Lead
Michel Simon in Panique
Charles Boyer in Cluny Brown
Michael Redgrave in The Captive Heart
Franco Interlenghi in Shoeshine
Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre in The Verdict
Supporting
Alastair Sim in Green For Danger
Claude Rains in Deception
Pierre Brasseur in Gates Of The Night
Louis: Ratings and thoughts on the rest of your lead top 15 and supporting performances with a 3.5 or more.
Your Female top 10s with ratings and other 4+ honourable mentions.
Hello Louis!
Tell me from the year 1930 which are your TOP10 best:
- Song
- Score
- Poster
- Editing
- Screenplays (adapted and original)
- Cast
Luke: Panique is a 1947 film.
Anonymous: Premiered in Paris on 19 December 1946. If Louis decides to put it in 47 then I'll replace him with either Vincent Price in Dragonwyck or Boris Karloff in Bedlam.
Luke:
Colman - 4(For both films it really is just him being charming and making not always great dialogue sing far more than most actors. Really just about the ease he had on screen when stiffness quite frankly was the norm.)
Ayres - 4(Interesting contrasting performance where he plays a hardbitten and already retired gangster. Theoretically mistcast but there is something about the youthful intensity that Ayres brings that does offer an interesting variation. Combine that with his ability to genuinely bring some nuanced and powerful emotions, particularly in his reaction to an unexpected death that Ayres really suggests a great deal of potential particularly if he had a great script. As is, an imperfect situation but he is compelling.)
Bartheless - 4(Very much delivers just a leading man energy early on with the right sense of heroic determination with a bit of a paternal manner towards his fellow pilots. When his jobs switches though Bartheless is also good in showing the weight of the situation fairly effectively, building up towards his final moments where it is mostly silent, fittingly for him, and he’s quite good in conveying the sense of determination. There’s the occasional overly dramatic delivery but mostly pretty good.)
Marx - 4(Just particularly good material for him here, especially his alternative delivery in his one monologue where he keeps cutting off the women to suddenly turn deadpan which I found the funniest bit in the film.)
Diessl - 4(Many scenes initially are taking in the weight of the situation where he is compelling in presenting that arduousness though maybe not as memorable as Ayres in the transformation to an aged man in youth. His best scene though is his coming home where he delivers on the bit of insanity of the moment of a man not quite knowing what to do but bringing a vicious force that is menacing but also very honest in its emotion. Then has a good moment in just delivery of his final moment of reflection.)
Powell - 3.5(Not premium Powell. He’s good, you get a degree of his charm but he’s not at his Thin Man Powers here. Mostly a presence performance but not on the level of say Colman comparatively.)
Saitō - 3.5(More so about general vibes where he manages to carry a combination between this certain comic levity of trying out the tricks with certain moments of a degree of pathos.)
Chaney - 3.5(He has a strong presence though really uninteresting material. Even his grandmother routine delivers with the right mischievousness. Sadly the script is terrible but he finds bits of general nuance in presenting the less malicious parts of the character.)
Cagney - 4(He delivers on not his most interesting gangster role but makes it look easy. Has a strong presence that just makes every line sing, while also managing to convey the secret affair of his character largely between the lines effectively. Particularly in the way Cagney portrays genuine care for his friend even while presenting as genuine fear at thinking what his friend might do when he finds out the truth. Strong work that you wish the film had allowed him to take it even further.)
Hamilton - 3.5(Interesting to see Commissioner Gordon being quite a bit more confrontational when giving out missions. Anyways brings a fierce intensity that occasionally borders on too much but overall is effective in presenting a man driven to a slight madness in the weight of his job. Hamilton makes the most of certain quieter moments of the detachment and distance of the man from the rest. Managing to accentuate the humanity in those moments, and his later scenes where even in the overall harsh demeanor he does suggest empathy he has to force down.)
Beery - 3.5(One of the few times where he manages to actually be a bit charming with his whole loutish demeanor. There’s something less overt about him here, maybe because apparently Dressler didn’t take his nonsense, but either way results in Beery actually coming across in a way that works. Where his manner enlivens the character rather than getting in the way.)
Horton - (His typical thing but a good part for it.)
Actress:
1. Norma Shearer - The Divorcee - 4.5
2. Greta Garbo - Anna Christie - 4.5
3. Marie Dressler - Min and Bill - 4.5
4. Joan Crawford - Paid - 4
5. Greta Grabo - Romance - 4
6. Loretta Young - The Devil to Pay - 4
7. Emiko Yagumo - That Night’s Wife - 4
8. Nancy Carroll - The Devil’s Holiday - 3.5
9. Ann Harding - Holiday - 3.5
10. Barbara Stanwyck - Ladies of Leisure - 3.5
Supporting Actress:
1. Marie Dressler - Anna Christie - 4
2. Mary Astor - Holiday - 3.5
3. Jean Harlow - Hell’s Angels - 3.5
4. Myrna Loy - The Devil To Pay - 3.5
5. Kinuyo Tanaka - I Flunked But… - 3.5
6. Claire Luce - Up the River - 3.5
7. Marie Prevost - Paid - 3.5
8. Hedda Hopper - Holiday - 3.5
9. Florence Eldridge - The Divorcee - 3.5
10. Hanna Hoessrich - Westfront 1918 - 3
Brazinterma:
The song is good at five.
For score I REALLY listed more than enough, given 3 of the films listed are essentially “best title music”.
Poster:
1. All Quiet on the Western Front
2. Prix de beauté
3. Feet First
4. Westfront 1918
5. The Light of Western Stars
Editing:
1. All Quiet on The Western Front
2. The Dawn Patrol
3. Westfront 1918
4. Earth
5. L’Age D’Or
Screenplays, especially Original, were already stretching in my top five.
Cast:
1. All Quiet on the Western Front
2. The Devil To Pay
3. The Dawn Patrol
4. Westfront 1918
5. Anna Christie
Louis: Your ratings and thoughts on the rest of the lead performances you've seen?
Louis: I didn't expect Jannings being dropped to 11 (im actually watching Blue Angel as of writing). Hope Bogart gets reviewed for The Big Sleep next cause its honestly about time.
Louis, anything to report regarding your TV-viewing habits lately?
Dom: Is there anything to say about him in The Big Sleep that he didn't cover in his review for Maltese Falcon?
Matt: didnt now he covered it in his Maltese review (possibly because i cant find it). I will say from what i remember from watching Big Sleep years ago, I did find Bogart's work to be more unique in comparison to his equally brilliant Sam Spade; mostly due to how different The Big Sleep is.
Dom: His Maltese review is right here, dude. https://actoroscar.blogspot.com/2015/04/alternate-best-actor-1941-humphrey.html
Louis: Thoughts on Shearer, Garbo (Anna Christie and Romance), Dressler (Min And Bill and Anna Christie), Crawford, Young and Yagumo.
I'd suggest Charles Boyer in Cluny Brown (Jennifer Jones will get her first 5 for that, I think).
And for Actress, remember to watch Deborah Kerr in I See a Dark Stranger - one of her more underrated turns.
Harris: I mean, when I first came to blogspot, I found it hard to make sense of years and rankings too. I think it's reasonable he didn't find it.
The Bogey turn, I want to see get reviewed some day, is In a Lonely Place. I personally really love that movie and that turn. I really liked his and Grahame's chemistry, and how that arc(or lack of) unfolds. I believe Louis is not a fan.
Louis: What are some acting races in Oscar history where you feel the strength of the winner's film played the most important part in securing their win, rather than quality of performance?
If you haven't answered this before, which among the current actors and actresses with multiple Oscar wins, do you feel are most likely to win at least one more statue.
Marcus: If Sean Penn can do it, anyone, that's not retired already, can do it. but man, can I tell you the one actor that is an Oscar winner but I hope wins his 2nd before curtains close..... I really hope Pacino pulls off something like The Irishman again, and gets his second Oscar for that. It's genuinely heartbreaking that Scent is his only Oscar. God, he should have won in 2019 over fucking Cliff Booth. What a load of crap.
Perfectionist: Wasn't criticizing him.
Lucas:
Kampers - 3.5(Slightly more comedic quality to his performance as kind of the wise soldier. Makes enough of an impact in bringing the energy combined with a hidden exasperation within his slightly off-beat delivery and manner.)
Takada - 3(Wholly fine but doesn’t really leave too much of an impact beyond the general surface needs of the part.)
Bogart - 3(His presence isn’t all there but part of it is there. Mostly he just needs to stand around reciting inane dialogue so he can’t do too much but he’s good with what he has.)
Tracy - 3(Also much inane dialogue and he as a wacky gangster is a strange combination. He brings kind of energy that kind of works but also kind of doesn’t. He’s a bit all over the place like the film but mostly better than bad.)
Buchanan - 3(Not quite leading man material in terms of his general presence, but there is a certain charm to him. He also has effective singing chemistry with his co-star that makes up for his somewhat stilted line deliveries.)
March - 3(Doesn’t get to do much interesting here though he’s completely serviceable in being just enough within the scheme of the film.)
Marion - 3(Slightly too big for his own good that gets in the way of the more dramatic parts. When he’s just trying to be the overly eager dad his performance works better but again when the shift happens it just falls apart a bit.)
Ames - 2.5(Doesn’t quite have the leading man energy to carry things much. He is a little too formal and theatrical in an overly refined delivery way. He has some okay moments but the stiff ones add up to more overall.)
Clive - 2.5(Basically the same performance as Frankenstein, which worked there because he was a mad scientist, as a mad soldier feels like the same over the top delivery and just after a while doesn’t work so well. Occasionally in moments that ask for more of a mania he does have a certain effectiveness but overall it does seem like he maybe fell on a certain approach.)
Charlia - 2.5(Uncharming husband where manly needs to make some different forms of grimaces eventually. Leaves little impression overall.)
Cantor - 2.5(He certainly is trying to the point you see where maybe this could’ve worked on stage where he could be fed by the audience, here though he’s just consistently stilted within the quiet space of the film screen.)
Graves - 2(Dull love interest who is dull.)
Morris - 2(Dull love interest who is dull)
Holmes - 2(Dull love interest who is dull.)
Barrymore - 2(Totally wacky all over the place love interest and he’s Captain Ahab? What??? Anyway Barrymore is just going all ridiculous here in a way that in no way plays to his strengths as a performer. Rather than righting the ship of the bad adaptation he goes right into its ridiculous choices and is ridiculous himself as a result.)
Gordon - 1.5(Super dull love interest is super dull)
Garrick - 1.5(Dull actor is dull)
Brendel - 1(With Canton maybe I could see how his shtick worked, with Brendel it is so immediately unfunny and grating I struggle to see how it ever worked. Plays the note of wacky foreigner in a way that is not for a moment endearing or enjoyable.)
Harris:
Finished Pitt Season 2, more of the same in a way that works though I thought Robby’s arc felt a little disjointed at times. Caught up with Invincible, which consistently works, particularly season 4 and its multi-episode arc that absolutely earned its taking over the narrative fully. I started watching Spider-Noir which I enjoyed enough to keep watching.
Luke:
Shearer - (Shearer finds maybe the ideal role for her performance style that feels very fitting to the position and nature of the character. Shearer finds so much nuance within the character of the titular divorcee consistently. As even the early scenes of being swept up in the love of it Shearer goes for more complication in creating the sense of unhappiness that is pushed back by the seeming success of finding a greater reason for life. When the progression of the plot happens Shearer is able to articulate so well this specific societal betrayal where she can only contain her anguish in a certain way and express it in a certain fashion. Shearer does so that meets that need while also allowing the audience fully in on it. She creates then as captivating a sense of the willful expression as she decides to also move on and portrays specifically this determination within that independence. Sadly the film falls into the requirements of the time. Shearer does her best to sell the final bit but everything he does up until that point suggests a far more compelling ending than we get.)
Garbo - Anna Christie (You can sense a certain degree of rust from the switch from silence to sound. Garbo isn’t the complete perfection of her later work in sound, but she’s still pretty close. There’s just a few moments here and there where you feel very much trying slightly too hard with the performance. Having said that she still just has such a tremendous presence here particularly in her early scenes of the woman just strangely owning her state in life even while she wallows in it. Garbo fills her up with a genuine history, something so frequently lacking in many performances, Garbo tells you where Anna came from before we get going. Within the progression of the story is where you have some of those less captivating moments, though she’s still consistently effective and never loses presence even as she needs to keep selling the same note of distress over her past. Something the film sadly gets stuck on in a not particularly interesting way though Garbo does her best to find what nuance she can.)
Garbo - Romance - (Technically maybe the more consistent of the two performances although less is asked from her. As Garbo mainly needs to be confident and more than a little flirty. Garbo though is wonderful and quite alluring in her way. Although there exists a problem because you do ponder how such a fascinating woman is interested in this annoying dullard, and the whole setup of her needing to “repent” is horribly realized. Garbo honestly makes the best choice by basically ignoring the misguided plotline and just being genuine within herself and succeeds to the degree that she can.)
Dressler - Min And Bill - (She has a great atypical presence and here actually shares a strong chemistry with Beery where they are both people very much owning their lot in life. Dressler’s wonderful in the sense of power she brings to her character and that innate strength of someone who knows exactly who she is without apolozing for it. She elevates every scene no matter how tired as written she remains dynamic by bringing so much reality within her work. Even when the film tilts to the melodramatic Dressler only ups the ante, completely delivering on that moment by just finding the combination of emotional empathy and disgust in her extreme reaction to the threat. Then in the final sequence she’s great in silently saying every single word of love but also regret in needing to sacrifice herself for that love.)
Anna Christie - (Only has a few scenes and honestly it is basically the extreme comical reverse of her work in Min and Bill. As here we get her as a far bigger drunk who just sort of wanders within her space. Dressler not focusing on reality but very much a slightly tinged absurdity of the type. Dressler delivers on this and brings a much needed degree of levity in every single one of her reactions. Bringing to life a completely different character, who could’ve felt exactly the same, and showing her great ability as a character actor just as she technically did as an unexpected leading lady.)
Crawford - (She’s good in her first scene in showing genuine distress and creating the backbone of humanity. Then she is great in the middle section in bringing the hardened determination of the changed woman. Crawford brings a fascinating combination between intense manipulation with a very specific cold allure that is so powerful. Sadly the film chooses to push her aside and basically turn her into a hysterical woman for scene after scene afterwards. Going from a possible 5 to a 4 thanks to just bad writing she has to contend with. A shame because she is truly great in the first half.)
Young - (Interesting just to see her in a very different presence from what she would be presented as later in her career. She’s just so much more fluid and open in this performance it is pretty fascinating comparatively. Beyond that this is really about the chemistry she shares with Colman, which is rather considerable and splendid in their quietly disarming way.)
Yagumo - (Within her silent work is able to convey the different states from the very concerned mother, to a change in a slightly more grit within seeing her husband’s choices but still going along with them, then in her interactions with the inspector where she goes from moments of strong empathy to great intensity with a natural ease and grace.)
Marcus:
These choices have nothing to do with my feelings on the performances rather if the strength of the film was unquestionably essential for the win.
Michael B. Jordan - Sinners
Jean Dujardin - The Artist (Though I’d argue his performance was fundamental to making it such a major player but his lack of name recognition makes him fair for a spot).
Kevin Spacey - American Beauty
Charlton Heston - Ben-Hur
Bing Crosby - Going My Way
Frances McDormand - Nomadland
Jane Fonda - Coming Home
George Chakiris - West Side Story
Martin Balsam - A Thousand Clowns
Jason Robards - Julia
Troy Kotsur - CODA
Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton
Jamie Lee Curtis - Everything Everywhere All At Once (Though really because Michelle Williams didn’t run supporting)
Some might say Russell Crowe in Gladiator however he was redhot with the academy regardless, and his arguably closest competition was a 2 time winner.
For the second question, I will always say you never know because before they won their second, you’d never guess Zellweger and Brody would’ve done it.
But just not to cop out and considering where their career is now:
Emma Stone (Producing at the very least least)
DDL (If he puts a concerted effort for a better return)
Cate Blanchett (Given she almost had a third for Tar)
Harris: I'll admit its been a while since i checked this blog overall and i've been going over the old posts earlier
Louis: I assume you're doing a 2026 catch up at the moment so could you give ratings on the casts once complete.
Ahh 1946....lol
Louis: Your 6-10 for Best Director in 1930
Regarding Disclosure Day, the flaws are pretty obvious. The two character arcs that exist, one just doesn’t get there, the other feels far too simplistic in the attempt at covering a deeper theme, of course deeper themes in general are pretty light here. There are some dodgy effects, and forgetting even arcs, none of the characters are all that memorable either, really just a set of powers. Having said that, Spielberg delivers on his end when it comes to the Spielbergian thrills, even including a repeat from Duel, and I’m pretty sure with the same set of shots, though with naturally an upping the ante after a certain point, though my favorite bit might’ve actually bit a technically low key one of a visualization of an alien legend involving Nixon and Jackie Gleason. I wouldn’t put this up with great Spielberg, falls more so in Spielberg where you can see his magic, even if the film is overall far from it.
Blunt - 3.5
O’Connor - 3.5
Firth - 2.5(I feel villain mode really doesn’t play to his strengths)
Hewson - 2.5
Domingo - 3
Russell - 3
Lloyd-Hughes - 2
Marvel - 3.5
Louis: Your thoughts on the production design and cinematography of Gate of Hell.
I believe Disclosure Day will suffer the same fate as War of the Worlds; at the time of its release, opinions were quite divided, but in a few years it will be positively reevaluated to the point of being placed among Spielberg's best films.
Anonymous: War of the Worlds is not among Spielberg's best films.
I definitely liked Disclosure Day more than you, Louis, but I can't disagree with most of your critiques. Knew you'd love that Jackie Gleason bit.
My ratings would probably be,
Blunt - 3.5
O’Connor - 3.5
Firth - 3.5
Hewson - 4
Domingo - 3.5
Russell - 2
Lloyd-Hughes - 2
Marvel - 3.5 (wish she had more to do honestly)
Matt: No need to be dismissive just because you disagree with him. And I know plenty of people who love War of the Worlds.
Louis: thoughts on this 1970s version of Bad Times at the El Royale?
Father Flynn: Art Carney
Darlene Sweet: Diana Ross
Emily Summerspring: Madeline Khan
Sullivan: Michael Murphy
Miles Miller: Brad Dourif
Billy Lee: Steve McQueen
Luke: Since I've seen you talk about Doctor Who before, did you watch the Ncuti Gatwa era, and what's your reaction to the recent news.
BuscemiFan: It's still not "considered" among his best work. People don't call it a bad movie, but they don't call it a great one either. Yes, nowadays it's more beloved than in 05 (that Cruise Razzie nom is ludicrous), but show me a Spielberg ranking that has that in the top 10?
Harris: To be honest with you, I only watched Eccleston and Tenant's portrayals of the character. I did see Matt Smith's Van Gogh episode and John Simm's return as The Master during Capaldi's run.
Louis: I can't remember if I've asked you this before but what are your thoughts on the 'Don Giovanni' scene from Amadeus.
Hello Louis and folks!
Let's talk about some 1930 movie translations in non-English speaking countries. The names that were in Brazil were:
All Quiet on the Western Front = No News on the Front / aka Nothing New on the Front
Westfront 1918 = War! Scourge of God
Animal Crackers = The Jokers
Another Fine Mess = Confusion in Profusion
Danger Lights = Escaping Danger
The Doorway to Hell = Paths to Hell
The Silver Horde = The Silver Shoal
The Big House = The Prison
Just Imagine = 1980s costumes
Louis: What are your thoughts on the "Flying Trapeze" sequence in It Happened One Night? I've always loved it as a sincere burst of joy, especially because Gable and Colbert seem so genuinely delighted in the moment.
Luke: You'll find his thoughts on that scene, among others, in Crowe's review for Romper Stomper.
Tahmeed: Thanks.
Louis: Instead, can I have your thoughts on Salieri reading Mozart's 'originals'.
Luke: You can find them on Willem Dafoe's review for Light Sleeper.
A: Thanks.
Louis: What are your thoughts on the rest of the female performances on your top 10s?
Louis: Obviously subject to change when Social Reckoning is released, but do you think it's a coincidence that Strong's approach seems to work better when he's working with a character based on, or inspired by a real person? Was thinking of The Apprentice, Chicago 7, and Succession in a way.
Tim: That's secondary to the combative tone of Mr. Mustin's comment, but FWIW, Cahiers du Cinema and Kiyoshi Kurosawa consider it among the best film of its decade.
I don't see what's dismissive or combative about what Matt said. Not every panned film by a great director needs, or merits a critical reevaluation.
Important note on Disclosure Day ratings, Blunt is the 2.5, Hewson is the 3.5.
8000’s:
The production design is very much within the realm of the style of the period as depicted at that time but with the knowingness of shooting the film in color. So very much emphasizing added color overtly to those period sets in a way that is flamboyant to a point, but I don’t think it goes too far to become too much. Finding a way to essentially show off while still convincing towards the period.
The cinematography too mainly seems in service of just emphasizing the colors more than anything else in the PD and costume design. And I would say it is successful in lighting and composing towards that emphasis effectively. Finding a certain spatial balance that keeps it from overwhelming. Would I describe ever as my favorite cinematography from a color japanese film of the period, no, but essentially it is a good overt use of the form.
Anonymous:
Carney would be a great fit as he could be warm, have a certain edge about him yet also quietly heartbreaking as honestly shown by his three best 70’s performances. I haven’t seen enough of Ross’s work to say for sure, but certainly could do the singing. Khan I don’t quite see as obviously, would be a very different style for her. Murphy has the right presence for the government type. Dourif is absolutely perfect in every way. McQueen could be fascinating in such a role.
Tahmeed:
An example of what makes a great film great. As plot wise the need for the scene is for the bus driver to get distracted to cause the problem for the bus and for the other man to get his suspicions on the situation. To realize that though it is just such brilliant scene of communal joy particularly where it is a moment between Gable and Colbert that isn’t direct yet wholly shared with just how natural the joy in them, but also the crowd within the energy where you see everyone really absorbing it together leading up to the driver’s mistake that feels natural by how the moment was built to with such ease.
Lucas:
Carroll - (Kind of in-between in terms of actresses of the period. There’s some of that theatrical and stiff bits, yet there're other moments where she does come to life properly. It’s a bit more of a push pull here than one would love. She has good moments in creating the nature of her character, but the more moralizing the less good she is. She’s overall inconsistent but on the whole decent.)
Harding - (Overall she is fine in hitting all the general notes fine. Although you just compare her to Hepburn in the same role and she suffers in every comparison. Harding’s work is quite not ready for cinema even though she’s never overtly bad, she’s just never overtly good either. She’s not quite there in a consistent way.)
Stanwyck - (In general it is just her presence and ability to emote. Overall though we do get a bit more of the theatrics in moments where she doesn’t own the melodrama rather falls victim to it in just playing up those notes in a way that emphasizes their falseness.)
BuscemiFan: No disrespect, you read a tone where there was none.
Tahmeed: War of the Worlds was not really panned, was it? At the time people were way more fixated on Cruise's personal life and dragging him down any chance they'd get. I think even his outstanding performance in Collateral wasn't well received.
Louis: Your thoughts on these scenes https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=d0sRhku9hTI https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MbIeB1TqTk4
RIP Gene Shalit
Tahmeed:
I would say that is a decent theory, however his work in Springsteen does get in the way a bit.
Shaggy:
6. Ernst Lubitsch - Monte Carlo
7. Josef von Sternberg - The Blue Angel
8. Augusto Genina - Prix de Beaute
9. James Parrott - Another Fine Mess
10. Victor Heerman - Animal Crackers
Anonymous:
Both are highlights of just what Griffith brought consistently to the role. The first scene being really his success at creating the calmer manipulation that seemingly has more genuine emotion in there yet still manipulation regardless. Griffith manages to balance though the sense of Silver’s selfish desire with a genuine sense of real need for his reason for being so adamant in his intention. The second scene is right back to pure emotional pesting manipulation and great as always as such where his smug smile just bites into a moment so well consistently. In this instance the subversion works with Daniel saying something Silver can’t fight back against specifically and his reaction conveying that perfectly.
Unknown:
While the individual perspective of a film is subjective, the actual overall public perception is objective to a certain extent. War of the Worlds was not panned upon release, its RT and Metacritic score (which the reviews are mostly from its original release), were both positive, not exceedingly positive but definitely positive. Conversely however the metrics of audience perception, imdb (which grants a combination of then and now perspective), letterboxd (which is a modern audience perspective) and rottentomatoes audience score, all show a more middling to slightly negative overall view of the film. Even its wholly at the time cinemascore of B+, which really just measures general perception of did they get what they wanted, supports a people who got mostly what they wanted but didn’t exceed expectations by any measure. More anecdotally, which is why I am listing it last, the general reaction I saw at the time in 2005 was “worth watching but not great”. Honestly it didn’t go from panned to being considered a misunderstood masterpiece by most. It seems to have gone from Mixed leaning positive, to just mixed in terms of general public perception.
Cruise was generally well praised for Collateral at the time of its release.
Louis: I was the unknown who was talking about reception to Cruise's performance in Collateral. Used the wrong account. Yeah, I might have overplayed the negative reception to Cruise's performance there. I guess, I saw some reviews from the time of it's release. Some described his performance as stiff and robotic, which I found absolutely baffling..... Which brings me to one more thing. Can I ask you a for a rewatch of Jerry Maguire?? I mentioned it last year, about how much I love that performance. But I guess, now I should request you for a rewatch.
Matt: None taken. But responding to Anonymous's enthusiasm with blunt negativity rather than, for instance, asking them why they feel that way, read as being dismissive.
Tahmeed: I wasn't pushing for "every panned film by a great director" to be re-evaluated, it's unclear to me how you got that impression.
It wasn't blunt negativity (I didn't even say anything bad, and I could've) I just said its not one of his best, and its not. I'm done with this conversation now, no hard feelings.
You guys seem like really nice guys to hang out with lol
We used to be a proper comment section, with someone getting swore at every year. Some of the older comment sections from 10+ years ago are absolute goldmines of weirdness though.
Louis and everyone else: Your favorite songs for walking/working out? Doesn't have to be limited to film songs.
Marcus:
"Purple Rain" (amazing to kill 8 minutes on a treadmill, while also just being an extraordinary song of course)
"Under Pressure"
"Lose Yourself"
"And We Danced" - The Hooters
Also basically the entirety of Rumors, Hamilton Act I, or the Drive soundtrack.
Matt: No hard feelings here either.
Marcus: What are some of the old weird comment sections? Only ones I can think of are the ones with that mrripley guy who seemed to hate every movie.
Marcus: Anything fast by Pantera. Also, "Xanadu" by Rush.
Tony: Just the occasional review which would have overly passionate advocates or haters for an actor, like Leslie Howard in Berkeley Square. Or when someone comments something ridiculous many years after the review (Brendan Gleeson in the Guard, or the Boris Karloff hater), but Louis usually deletes the ones that are excessive.
Louis: Thoughts on this extended version of Obi-Wan’s scene from Return of the Jedi? Granted, it’s done comedically, but it was way longer than I expected. Skip to 55:15 and end at 1:03:08. https://youtu.be/G7aqI1JF0OI?is=WPVA_u0-LCrfl4IX
Louis: Your ratings and thoughts on Ruth Chatterton in Sarah and Son and the rest of the female performances in your supporting top 10?
Happy Birthday Daniel
Louis: Your thoughts on Peace On Earth (1939) and The Old Man And The Sea (1999).
Happy Birthday, Daniel and Luke!
Also on topic of weird comments, I think my favorite is some guy who was mocking the idea of Jean-Claude Van Damme getting a 5 for JCVD, beacuse "wow golly gee, other cinema legends have gotten lower scores for better performances, yet you gave Van Damme of all people a 5, hell has frozen over".
Yeah, as if one of the best things about films isn't exemplified by how even the most unexpected actor can deliver a great performance when utilized correctly.
Happy Birthday Luke and thanks everyone =D,
Luke: He saw Peace on Earth?, I forgot that I requested that lol.
RatedRStar: You did after 2004 Lead was finished but wanted to remind Louis about it.
Anyone else think the best performance in Disclosure Day was Courtney Grace at the end?
Hi Louis and everyone, I have a question: how come you don’t really like De Niro, given that he’s tied for fifth place in your nominations tally with Gene Hackman and Tatsuya Nakadai?
Anonymous: it's not that he's not liked but after maybe Heat (1995), there was a 25 year period where he wasn't as invested as we would've liked him to be and it has hurt his legacy to an extent compared to say Hackman and Duvall.
Happy birthday Luke and Daniel, wishing you both an amazing year ahead.
Thank you Ytrewq, Daniel and Tahmeed.
Louis: Would you be interested in seeing more of Petrov's work.
Happy Birthday Gentlemen
Perfectionist:
I certainly wouldn’t mind re-watching Jerry Maguire at some point.
Robert:
Exposition dump, with the emphasis on the dump part, is why Obi-Wan would feel he’d need to spell out everything about Leia and the plan in general seems more than a little labored in the extent of it all. Although in a way maybe a sign of some of what the prequels would be dogged by particularly since nothing in the scene was done to hide the exposition really or make it smoother, just a long HERE IT IS.
Lucas:
Chatterton - 1.5(Her performance really is just a bad accent where she manages to be both stilted and over the top, which is always a nasty combination. There isn’t a moment where you believe her in this role or anything more than just an actor hamming it to the hills for the duration of the film. A performance that only succeeds in reminding you how false her acting is every second she is doing it in.)
Astor - (The thankless role of the film anyways, however I liked that Astor managed to at least not play into just the objective which was to break up eventually. Rather Astor presented her initial scenes as genuine with only eventually showing the break later on as just a natural realization of different values. Although still thankless did what she could.)
Harlow - (Really just a pure presence performance that stands out all the more because she is so alive compared to her co-stars who comparatively are so bland. When she comes onscreen suddenly you see someone present and genuine, even though I never thought the role itself allowed her to go in too interesting of directions.)
Loy - (As the other woman in this instance is nice that she plays it totally as a charming character in her own right where Loy offers her presence in a little more of a mischievous role. The film sadly doesn’t give her much beyond that but she’s good with what she has.)
Tanaka - (Really doesn’t have much other than to convey being forlorn and loving a few different moments. She does that but this isn't her most challenging of roles.)
Luce - (Really this is just for her first scene with Bogart where there is a real honesty between to the point I hoped that the film would be about them in a special way. Sadly it goes nowhere and her character just repeats the same beat to diminishing returns. Her first scene is good though in showing the sense of insecurity and shame combined with the hope presented by empathy.)
Prevost - (A bit underutilized as most supporting performers were at the time, she brings a bit of mischievous fun in playing her “part” near the end by just owning the impish quality about it even though again it doesn't add up to too much.)
Hopper - (Brings a nice energy to her bit which again just is more than most can say. Don't get too much beyond just that energy though.)
Eldridge - (Offers at least some semblance of character in her reactions conveying internalized thought…though the film doesn’t really explore that she bothered to do it.)
Hoessrich - (Just slightly big I think, but I think overall her reaction that isn’t exact shock or typical shame but rather an unusual combination exuding circumstance does paint an interesting contrast.)
Anonymous:
I don’t dislike De Niro, he’s just not one of my personal favorites, mainly because for me there’s a bigger contrast between locked in De Niro, where he is one of the true greats, and less engaged or unengaged De Niro.
Robert:
Yes, yes. As her performance made me feel a lot more than the overall sequence did in terms of the main characters or performances.
Louis: Your thoughts on this Cavett interview with Ian McKellen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzOlVLDMLAQ
Luke and anyone else watching/following: Predictions for the World Cup?
Louis: Thoughts on this mini-documentary about working with Klaus Kinski?
https://youtu.be/iWqRgweZ3SA?is=9R5utg4vfVPGrEtT
Tahmeed: I'll let you know once the first round of group matches have finished.
Louis and Luke : when you talk about a "less engaged De Niro", are you specifically referring to post‑2000 De Niro? If so, isn’t it normal that he started to get a bit lazy here and there after turning 60?
Because to me, post‑2000 De Niro has still shown many flashes of brilliance (with Scorsese, O. Russell, Everybody’s Fine, The Intern, Men of Honor, etc.) I’m not saying this period is anywhere close to De Niro’s prime but he has occasionally displayed a fair amount of his talent (the peak of that late‑career resurgence might be The Irishman and Killers of the Flower Moon)
8000's:
An often repeated notion, best repeated by Timothy Olyphant with Conan, of yes the camera requiring very different acting from the stage also requiring different acting.
Ytrewq:
Essentially using Spalding Gray's delivery method with Demme's direction/editing of Gray but to tell the story of Kinski, which is kind of amusing here but imperfect overall, though the repeated "bummer" was funny. The story itself pretty much your average Kinski story, including yet another instance of someone legitimately wanting to murder him.
Anonymous:
I don't think we need to excuse phoning it in. Many older actors don't start phoning it in (e.g. Max von Sydow) at any point in their career.
Louis: so my two cents on it. In case of De Niro, it's not like he is phoning it in high quality movies and actively ruining them in that post 2000s run of his.... I think of De Niro's situation as someone who has so vigorously and so consistently put so many great and physically demanding performances over a 20+ years that he kind of shutdown after Jackie Brown. But instead of retiring, does some light hearted hogwash. Age does play a factor. Day Lewis kinda retired around that phase of his career toof
I forgot to ask, Louis, but could I have your rating and thoughts on Jeanette MacDonald in Monte Carlo?
Also, I'm very happy that Norma Shearer is first!
Louis: You gave Marlene Dietrich in The Blue Angel a 4. Would you still give her that rating? If so, where would you put her in your top 10, and if not what rating would you give her now?
Perfectionist:
Again that's fine if you feel that way, but that's simply why he's not a personal favorite for me, though I do think he's a great actor. But just like personal favorite films those are specific to the person and should be specific to everyone. If someone's favorite actor is De Niro that's perfectly fine choice to me.
ruthiehenshallfan99:
MacDonald - 3.5(I wouldn't say it is all that different from her
other roles of this ilk other than not working with Chevalier, though I would say the level of chemistry with her co-star is on a similar level here. As usual I think MacDonald is a good but not great comedienne working with those more comedic aspects, and obviously can sing more powerfully delivering in that sense as per usual.)
Lucas:
Honestly I don't know. That ranking was based on a very long ago viewing of the film. I would need to re-watch it.
Your thoughts on this scene from South Park.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnwAU8Hnnuc
Louis: What are your thoughts on Louis Wolheim in Danger Lights and The Silver Horde, Walter Huston in Abraham Lincoln, Laurel and Hardy in Another Fine Mess, Emil Jannings in The Blue Angel, and Claudette Colbert in The Big Pond if you remember them?
Louis: fair enough, man. Totally respect that.
Louis, do you remember if you've already given your thoughts on the scene from Sentimental Value where their faces morph together? If not, can I have them?
Louis: Thoughts on Natasha Henstridge in South Park and Kathleen Turner in The Simpsons?
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