Satuday Evening Movie Thread 10-19-2019 [Hosted by: TheJamesMadison]

Hello all, TJM, here. So, Mary Poppin's Practically Perfect Piercing (MP⁴) reached out to me with an idea for a post. It was about one of his favorite silent films, Haxan, a movie I hadn't yet seen. So, I encouraged him to write it himself, which he has done! I really liked what he wrote, so I'm giving him the floor tonight.

MP⁴ knows more about the silent era than I do. I know much of the highlights of the era, but MP⁴ has spent time digging into the nooks and crannies of the time and place and has accumulated such a wonderful compendium of knowledge on the time and place. He's even gone so far as to write some fiction set in the era, mostly around the silent vamp Theda Bara, star of the lost silent epic Cleopatra and her makeup man Toby.

Also, you should buy his books.

Häxan (Witchcraft Through the Ages)

Good evening, 'rons and 'ronettes. Thanks to TheJamesMadison, Moviegique, OregonMuse and Ace for letting me pester you all with some words about silent movies; or, rather, one in particular: Häxan, called by writer Jack Stevenson "the world's strangest film" (though that, like Plan 9 from Outer Space being the "worst movie ever made" is debatable; I think Tales from the Quadead Zone is a hell of a lot stranger).

Horror has been a movie staple almost from the beginning; the Edison studio put out a truncated Frankenstein in 1910, whose biggest special effect consisted of the monster rising out of a bubbling cauldron. And, depending on how you want to define "documentary," you could make the argument that Fred Ott's Sneeze – Edison's 1894 short of a studio employee doing just that – constitutes a documentary, since it's showing the viewer a real event. But the combination of the two, though now common in "found footage" crap-fests such as The Blair Witch Project and the Paranormal Activity franchise, had been for many years a rarity, and in fact, I can only think of
Häxan prior to the 1970's.

Häxan (in English, The Witch) was the brainchild of Danish director Benjamin Christensen. His two earlier films, Blind Justice and The Mysterious X, had attracted American notice and the Vitagraph studio in New York offered to make him a supervising producer, but by that time Christensen had the notion to make a trilogy about the history of superstition. Häxan was part one of this never-completed project.
Christensen's viewpoint was that there was no such thing as "real" witchcraft, but only an hysteria such as that affecting modern-day psychiatric patients. Not a particularly objectionable statement in itself, but he went further than that – just as the witches of the Middle Ages were tortured and forced to confess their worship of Satan, he argued, "compassionate" treatment of the mentally ill, with its cold showers, electroshock treatments and confinement to "cure" patients were no better than the thumbscrew and rack of the Inquisition.

Häxan begins with a present-day lecture. Christensen takes us through ancient views of the universe, making the point that witchcraft, sorcery and belief in demons has been with mankind from the beginning. But, he asks, who and what are witches? What do they do?

The movie then travels back in time to the year 1488. An ominous title card reads "I will now illustrate a trial for witchcraft from beginning to end taking place at the time when the Pope sent traveling Inquisition priests out to Germany." We are introduced to the family of a scribe who is dying from some unknown disease. Frantic for a scapegoat, the sick man's sister-in-law (Karen Winther) runs to the Inquisition to accuse a poor elderly weaver, Maria (Maren Pedersen) of being a witch. Maria is kidnapped and tortured by the holy judges, though Christensen never shows her actually on the rack or in the thumbscrew. He does, however, show the instruments of torture to us and, in an effort to help us understand how an innocent person could admit to congress with the Evil One, notes "One of my actresses insisted on trying out the thumbscrew. . .I will not reveal the terrible confessions I forced from the young lady in less than a minute."

Maria the weaver is doomed. We know that. But in her agony, she has confessed to the judges (in a scene that intercuts with views of witches gathering for the Sabbat and engaging in child sacrifice and demonic sex) that the scribe's wife and sister, too, are witches, and an eager Inquisition snatches them up for torture and burning.

But Christensen isn't done yet. The vindictive sister-in-law is herself swept up as a sorceress and jailed. Häxan is not a horror film as such; no deaths are shown and there is only a brief shot of a child being thrown into a boiling pot, but the scene where the sister-in-law is promised freedom if she will only confess her witchery still packs a gut punch 97 years later.

"1488" is really the centerpiece of Häxan. Christensen then moves on briefly to the story of Sister Cecilia (a spooky Clara Pontoppidan), brooding on the persistent presence of the Devil (a role taken by the beefy director himself), who "forces" her to impale the sacred Host on a knife, to spit on a picture of the Christ Child and whose hysteria eventually overcomes the entire convent, throwing them into fits of shrieking and dancing. Watching these scenes, it's almost inevitable that we would consider the nuns sexually frustrated, but I don't believe that was Christensen's view; I think (and repeat viewings convince me) that he attributed their "hysteria" to a morbid preoccupation with sin. Not sex, but religion is responsible for suffering.

Finally, Häxan moves to the present day, in a sequence that in both 1922 and today is considered the weakest part of the movie. We see a woman (Tora Teje) who portrays, in various scenes, a sleepwalker, an arsonist and a kleptomaniac. All three of the women are said to suffer from "nervous exhaustion" and because of that, see things in their sleep or are forced "against their will" to perform acts that they would never do when they were awake. This, says Christensen, is the true source of the witch craze: a combination of shattered nerves, suspicion, morbid obsession and an instinctive dislike of the crippled, the aged or the just plain different. In the Middle Ages, the Church persecuted the witch; in our time, the "witch" is persecuted by the law.

Häxan was, on the whole, poorly received by the critics, who damned it for its portrayal of nudity and "perverted cruelty." Christensen himself admitted that "after The Witch, I was out in the cold for two years." He did eventually find a position at Germany's UFA, but left for America when MGM offered him a director's chair. His tenure there was difficult, and after four films with Warner Brothers, he soured on Hollywood and moved back to Denmark. His last film, 1942's The Lady with Light Gloves, was "an unmitigated disaster" and he never made another movie. The remainder of his life was spent in seclusion, owning and running a small cinema house until his death in 1959.

Häxan, though, lived on. It was revived in 1941, but then dropped out of sight until 1967, when the Danish Film Museum screened it during a retrospective of Christensen's work. The next year, English filmmaker Antony Balch cut its 104 minute running time to 76 minutes, re-titling it Witchcraft Through the Ages, adding not only a grating "jazz" score but enlisting counterculture icon William S. Burroughs to provide what has been described as an "arch" and "dully spoken" narration, though Burroughs does little more than read Christensen's original title cards. This is the version most familiar to the modern age, and I recall seeing it myself as a young child on some strange public access channel.

In 2001, Criterion released Häxan on DVD as a double bill with Witchcraft. It's now also available in a remastered 2K Blu-ray restoration, with Witchcraft, outtakes, commentary and Christiansen's own introduction to the 1941 re-release.

If you've never seen a silent, Häxan is probably not the place to start (that's a topic for another day). But if you're looking for something a little different for your Hallowe'en viewing, it's a good choice.

A Thank You

TJM here again. I just want to thank MP⁴ for doing this. His insight into the history and meaning of a silent classic like this is wonderful to read. Also, the rest of you should really buy his books.

Movies of Today

Opening in Theaters:
Maleficient: Mistress of Evil
Zombieland: Double Tap

Next in my Netflix Queue:
The Walk

Movies I Saw This Fortnight:
Joker (Netflix Rating 3/5 | Quality Rating 2.5/4) Full Review "I wanted to like this film more, but it's first half is just too messy with too much obfuscating the actual story at hand. The second half goes a good way making up for it, but not quite enough." [Theater]
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (Netflix Rating 4/5 | Quality Rating 3/4) Full Review "Watched as the final three episodes of Breaking Bad probably makes it flow a bit better, viewing it as the last three episodes of a television series, rather than as a stand alone movie." [Netflix Instant]
Exorcist II: The Heretic (Netflix Rating 1/5 | Quality Rating 0.5/4) Full Review "Everyone else has known that this movie was insane nonsense for more than 40 years, and you just found out. Time to tell the world!" ["Library"]
Crisis (Netflix Rating 2/5 | Quality Rating 1/4) Full Review "Ingmar Bergman's first movie has a handful of charms, but it's ultimately an unfocused bit of over-assured storytelling that never comes together." [Personal Collection]
Fear and Desire (Netflix Rating 2/5 | Quality Rating 1/4) Full Review "This is the work of an immature, unfocused, and pretentious bore. This Stan Kubrick guy has no future in the movies. He should just go back to New York and become a dentist or something." [Amazon Prime]
Paths of Glory (Netflix Rating 5/5 | Quality Rating 4/4) Full Review "It's a temporary reprieve for them before they are sent back to the meat grinder where they will once again become subject to the whims of the French military command. It's perhaps their final moment of humanity." [Personal Collection]
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Netflix Rating 5/5 | Quality Rating 4/4) Full Review "This movie is a classic for good reason." [Personal Collection]
Eyes Wide Shut (Netflix Rating 5/5 | Quality Rating 4/4) Full Review "It's a descent into dream logic and another world while also touching on themes that are extraordinarily grounded. I think it's an underrated work from one of the greatest of filmmakers." [Personal Collection]

Contact

Email any suggestions or questions to thejamesmadison.aos at symbol gmail dot com.

Follow me on Twitter.

I've also archived all the old posts here, by request.

I'll add new posts a week after they originally post at the HQ.

Posted by: OregonMuse at 08:11 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 st

Posted by: DR.WTF at October 19, 2019 08:12 PM (aS1PU)

2

Svengoolie is on. The movie is The Mummy's Handjob.

Posted by: Soothsayer, very senile at October 19, 2019 08:13 PM (EdeJT)

3 hiya

Posted by: JT at October 19, 2019 08:14 PM (arJlL)

4 I avoid all movies with umlauts in the title.

I hate umlauts.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at October 19, 2019 08:14 PM (XVuno)

5 4 I avoid all movies with umlauts in the title.

I hate umlauts.
Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at October 19, 2019 08:14 PM (XVuno)

=====

Be careful of your insurance choices, then.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison's Phone at October 19, 2019 08:15 PM (zZbCU)

6 Anyone looking forward to the release of Star Wars IX? I'm not.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at October 19, 2019 08:15 PM (XVuno)

7 I see The Bad Seed ( 1959) is on Movies staring Greta Thunberg at1015pm

Posted by: Skip at October 19, 2019 08:16 PM (ZCEU2)

8 When do we get to the part where a moose bites someone's sister?

Posted by: pep at October 19, 2019 08:16 PM (T6t7i)

9 I first heard of Haxan when Ace linked to a YouTube video of Season of the Witch featuring scenes from the movie.

I found a torrent and downloaded the film with anticipation.

There was a lot less nudity than I expected.

Posted by: damn Danes at October 19, 2019 08:17 PM (860sb)

10 A film with sexually frustrated nuns? It has possibilities...

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at October 19, 2019 08:18 PM (XVuno)

11

Plan 9 from Outer Space being the "worst movie ever made" is debatable

On Rifftrax I saw a steaming turd called Birdemic. It's The Birds Meets
Greta Thunberg. The birds are attacking people because of global
warming. It's Manos: The Hands of Fate level of film making with a lefty
preachy message.

Posted by: TheQuietMan at October 19, 2019 08:18 PM (Um89f)

12 When do we get to the part where a moose bites someone's sister?

Starring Insomniac's sister !

Who went on to play the woman in the opening of JAWS!

Posted by: JT at October 19, 2019 08:19 PM (arJlL)

13 4 I avoid all movies with umlauts in the title.

I hate umlauts.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at October 19, 2019 08:14 PM (XVuno)

An umlaut once bit my sister.

Posted by: flounder, rebel, vulgarian, deplorable, winner at October 19, 2019 08:19 PM (jYnPD)

14 I avoid all movies with umlauts in the title.

I hate umlauts.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at October 19, 2019 08:14 PM (XVuno)

You didn't like Spinal Tap?

Posted by: TheQuietMan at October 19, 2019 08:19 PM (Um89f)

15 I watched Haxan for the first time earlier today.

I loved it. It was fascinating and cruel and really unsettling.

The trial is as terrifying as Joan of Arc's trial in The Passion of Joan of Arc.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison's Phone at October 19, 2019 08:19 PM (zZbCU)

16 Wasn't Haxan a video game?

Posted by: Puddleglum at October 19, 2019 08:20 PM (6rRyd)

17 Plan 9 from Outer Space being the "worst movie ever made" is debatable

It really is. Ed Wood actually knew what he was doing; he simply didn't have the resources to put his vision on the screen.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 19, 2019 08:21 PM (Ki5SV)

18 The trial is as terrifying as Joan of Arc's trial in The Passion of Joan of Arc.

"You can't handle the truth !"

Posted by: JT at October 19, 2019 08:21 PM (arJlL)

19

Tickets please and keep your feet off the seats and dicks in the popcorn container...........enjoy the show.

Posted by: saf at October 19, 2019 08:21 PM (5IHGB)

20 13 lol

Posted by: mjc at October 19, 2019 08:22 PM (Pg+x7)

21

J.B. Witchdance (1993) featuring Ginger Baker

https://youtu.be/mKhGSCDR-F0

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at October 19, 2019 08:23 PM (aKsyK)

22 You didn't like Spinal Tap?
Posted by: TheQuietMan at October 19, 2019 08:19 PM (Um89f)

--------

Technically speaking, two dots above a consonant doesn't really qualify as an umlaut.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at October 19, 2019 08:23 PM (XVuno)

23 I thought the post would be about Nosferatu, which has become a Halloween classic. My high school used to show Freaks. I'll probably watch my copy this year.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at October 19, 2019 08:24 PM (Lqy/e)

24 Thanks for the kind words, TJM. I don't deserve them, but I appreciate them.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 19, 2019 08:24 PM (Ki5SV)

25 Haxan is a Satan movie. If you watch it, Satan will eat your soul.

In other words, it's no "Bone Tomahawk."

Or maybe it is.

Anyway, ZOD. Souls. Eating.

Posted by: Zod at October 19, 2019 08:25 PM (XzT/D)

26 24 Thanks for the kind words, TJM. I don't deserve them, but I appreciate them.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 19, 2019 08:24 PM (Ki5SV)

=====

Seriously, though, your knowledge of the silent era is fantastic.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison's Phone at October 19, 2019 08:25 PM (zZbCU)

27 Spinal Tap should have used a tilde above the "n". Less Teutonic, more Hispanic.

Ay, yay yay yay yay!

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at October 19, 2019 08:25 PM (XVuno)

28 Thanks for the kind words, TJM. I don't deserve them, but I appreciate them.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 19, 2019 08:24 PM (Ki5SV)

Nice post MP4. You've made me want to see Haxan.

Posted by: DR.WTF at October 19, 2019 08:26 PM (aS1PU)

29 I thought the post would be about Nosferatu, which has become a Halloween classic. My high school used to show Freaks. I'll probably watch my copy this year.
Posted by: Notsothoreau at October 19, 2019 08:24 PM (Lqy/e)

There's a lot I could say about Nosferatu, but I thought Haxan would be a choice that might encourage people to watch it.

If you like Nosferatu, I'd recommend the Willem Dafoe movie Shadow of the Vampire, whose plot is that Dafoe - as Max Schreck - is a real vampire who agrees to be in the movie if director F.W. Murnau will give him the leading lady to drain dry at the end of the shoot. It's very well done, IMO.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 19, 2019 08:27 PM (Ki5SV)

30 Watched the Resident Evil films this week. Alice doesn't tell the audience enough that her name is Alice.

Posted by: strong pimp paw mcclaws at October 19, 2019 08:27 PM (Od14x)

31 Started watching it

Posted by: Skip at October 19, 2019 08:28 PM (ZCEU2)

32 A relentlessly (not silent) creepy movie that haunts me is the 2008 version of Martyrs, directed by Pascal Laugier.

Very mysterious ending as well as just evil and creepy. Very well made, I have to admit.

Posted by: Sharkman at October 19, 2019 08:29 PM (88cFV)

33 Also, Fuck The Yankees.

Posted by: Sharkman at October 19, 2019 08:30 PM (88cFV)

34 Also, Fuck The Yankees.

That's pretty spooky

Posted by: JT at October 19, 2019 08:32 PM (arJlL)

35 I've watched bits of Haxan (As a matter of fact, it showed up on some broadcast channel a few weeks ago in the evening!), but I've never got that drawn into it. A lot of imagery, but the quality of the prints you usually see are pretty poor and it's a jumpy narrative to deal with.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at October 19, 2019 08:33 PM (oVJmc)

36 35 I've watched bits of Haxan (As a matter of fact, it showed up on some broadcast channel a few weeks ago in the evening!), but I've never got that drawn into it. A lot of imagery, but the quality of the prints you usually see are pretty poor and it's a jumpy narrative to deal with.
Posted by: Mr. Peebles at October 19, 2019 08:33 PM (oVJmc)

=====

The embed Mp4 used up above is from a very fine print that the Swedish film Institute put together.

It's a great option, especially considering the price.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison's Phone at October 19, 2019 08:34 PM (zZbCU)

37 and it's a jumpy narrative to deal with.

Like The Ghost and Mr. Chicken ?

Posted by: JT at October 19, 2019 08:35 PM (arJlL)

38 The embed Mp4 used up above is from a very fine print that the Swedish film Institute put together.

Isn't that where Greta Sourpuss is from ?

Posted by: JT at October 19, 2019 08:37 PM (arJlL)

39 Found out in the last month there are lots of places on the web you can see old movies besides those on YouTube

Posted by: Skip at October 19, 2019 08:37 PM (ZCEU2)

40 Like The Ghost and Mr. Chicken ?
Posted by: JT at October 19, 2019 08:35 PM (arJlL)

--------

Nothing is like The Ghost and Mr. Chicken. That there is a cinematic masterpiece.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at October 19, 2019 08:37 PM (XVuno)

41 Dude you have got to lay off the Kubrick. It will warp your mind.

Thanks for the excellent exposition MP3. It makes me want to go to the Witches Confluence tomorrow at the County Fair building!

Posted by: San Franpsycho at October 19, 2019 08:38 PM (EZebt)

42 Found out in the last month there are lots of places on the web you can see old movies besides those on YouTube
Posted by: Skip

Do we hafta buy your book to find out where ?

Posted by: JT at October 19, 2019 08:38 PM (arJlL)

43
Nothing is like The Ghost and Mr. Chicken. That there is a cinematic masterpiece.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at October 19, 2019 08:37 PM (XVuno)

Atta boy, Luther!

Posted by: TheQuietMan at October 19, 2019 08:38 PM (Um89f)

44 41 Dude you have got to lay off the Kubrick. It will warp your mind.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at October 19, 2019 08:38 PM (EZebt)

======

Oh, it's done. Now I'm watching Billy Wilder's movies.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison's Phone at October 19, 2019 08:39 PM (zZbCU)

45 I loved Shadow of the Vampire! I've not actually seen Haxen. I'll have to try and find time this weekend.

The thing I would remind people about silents: if you see some technique that has been used in modern films, remember that it was brand new in the silent.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at October 19, 2019 08:39 PM (Lqy/e)

46 "Battleship Potemkin" is a fine movie without the original Russian voice-over.

Posted by: Zod at October 19, 2019 08:39 PM (XzT/D)

47 I don't know which early Cleopatra it was (maybe the lost silent one), but the massive sets were left behind on the isolated CA central coast beach where it was shot, and every ten years or so a good sized storm will uncover parts of "ancient Egypt" near Pismo.

Posted by: Rusty Nail at October 19, 2019 08:40 PM (I99aF)

48 Spain was the first jurisdiction in Europe to say witchcraft was a fantasy, in the 1600s. England's last witch execution was 1701; Scotland's was 1745 (or '43).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Basque_witch_trials

Posted by: andycanuck at October 19, 2019 08:40 PM (Dh1wo)

49 46 "Battleship Potemkin" is a fine movie without the original Russian voice-over.
Posted by: Zod at October 19, 2019 08:39 PM (XzT/D)

======

I had long preferred Strike, but I watched both recently and discovered that Potemkin really is the better of the two. Hadn't seen them since college.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison's Phone at October 19, 2019 08:40 PM (zZbCU)

50 The thing I would remind people about silents: if you see some technique that has been used in modern films, remember that it was brand new in the silent.

Except for the screaming.

Posted by: JT at October 19, 2019 08:41 PM (arJlL)

51 47 I don't know which early Cleopatra it was (maybe the lost silent one), but the massive sets were left behind on the isolated CA central coast beach where it was shot, and every ten years or so a good sized storm will uncover parts of "ancient Egypt" near Pismo.
Posted by: Rusty Nail at October 19, 2019 08:40 PM (I99aF)

======

That might have been Griffith's Intolerance.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison's Phone at October 19, 2019 08:41 PM (zZbCU)

52 Shadow of the Vampire is great. Has a bit of humor with the vampire being a typically demanding actor.

Posted by: davidt at October 19, 2019 08:42 PM (RAfu9)

53 I don't know which early Cleopatra it was (maybe the lost silent one), but the massive sets were left behind on the isolated CA central coast beach where it was shot, and every ten years or so a good sized storm will uncover parts of "ancient Egypt" near Pismo.

---------

I remember that. Today they probably have Prop. 65 placards stuck all over them.

Because Failifornia.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at October 19, 2019 08:42 PM (XVuno)

54 Just about the only movie I am looking forward to seeing these days is 1917. I seriously don't know if I should even bother with Star Wars IX. Other than that, movies are a big "meh" now.

I thought I'd throw this out there: something I thought of while looking at other B-movies. Is it possible that what we regard as B movies are, in some cases, nothing more than "test drives" for some directors to screw around and see what is possible and what they would like to work on in the future as a no-kidding A-movie? (Some director puts something together that he KNOWS will suck but he's just testing out effects, themes, camera angles, etc, and when he/she is done is of the mind "oh well, may as well recoup SOME cost. I'll release it.)

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at October 19, 2019 08:43 PM (ZXzOT)

55 The Criterion Channel has Haxon available for streaming.

It sounds horrifying and fascinating, like 'Come and See', which is also on the CC.

I haven't the gumption to watch either quite yet.

Posted by: lizabth at October 19, 2019 08:43 PM (L3Rsz)

56 Man, the inaccuracies... I should probably say nothing.

Posted by: Hillary! at October 19, 2019 08:44 PM (cfSLd)

57 JT - I find some 60s or 70s movie and start looking it up, it often pops up to watch on some website.

Posted by: Skip at October 19, 2019 08:44 PM (ZCEU2)

58 48
Spain was the first jurisdiction in Europe to say witchcraft was a
fantasy, in the 1600s. England's last witch execution was 1701;
Scotland's was 1745 (or '43).

According to Hillary, Tulsi Gabbard is a witch.

Posted by: pep at October 19, 2019 08:45 PM (T6t7i)

59 I had long preferred Strike, but I watched both recently and discovered that Potemkin really is the better of the two. Hadn't seen them since college.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison's Phone at October 19, 2019 08:40 PM (zZbCU)

As for me, give me Alexander Nevsky and Ivan the Terrible Part 1. I have both on DVD.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at October 19, 2019 08:45 PM (ZXzOT)

60 Now I'm watching Billy Wilder's movies.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison's Phone at October 19, 2019 08:39 PM (zZbCU)

I always recommend Sunset Boulevard, of course, and One, Two, Three. But I would be interested to know what you think of The Emperor Waltz, with Bing Crosby and Joan Fontaine.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 19, 2019 08:45 PM (Ki5SV)

61 I am going to have to break down and watch one of these silent films. I think to start it will be the Great KA Train Robbery. If it is a Western it will be easier to appreciate the different art. No way I can just start with silent and super weird Also I will check out Buster Keaton at some point. His films sound interesting and important.

Posted by: Quint at October 19, 2019 08:45 PM (n13/j)

62 According to Hillary, Tulsi Gabbard is a witch.
Posted by: pep at October 19, 2019 08:45 PM (T6t7i)

Why, did Rep Gabbard turn her into a newt?

...she got better.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at October 19, 2019 08:46 PM (ZXzOT)

63 If you mute "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and sync the beginning of the movie with Devo's "Freedom Of Choice" album, you will achieve complete understanding.

Posted by: Zod at October 19, 2019 08:46 PM (XzT/D)

64 []
Why, did Rep Gabbard turn her into a newt?

...she got better.

Actually, I think the newt is an improvement.

Posted by: pep at October 19, 2019 08:47 PM (T6t7i)

65 54 I thought I'd throw this out there: something I thought of while looking at other B-movies. Is it possible that what we regard as B movies are, in some cases, nothing more than "test drives" for some directors to screw around and see what is possible and what they would like to work on in the future as a no-kidding A-movie? (Some director puts something together that he KNOWS will suck but he's just testing out effects, themes, camera angles, etc, and when he/she is done is of the mind "oh well, may as well recoup SOME cost. I'll release it.)
Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at October 19, 2019 08:43 PM (ZXzOT)

=====

B movies kind of don't exist anymore. Straight to video movies kind of exist there now.

But that's exactly what B movies offered up and coming directors. Look at the earliest films of the directors of the 70s. Scorsese's first film was a bit trashy. Spielberg's first was a TV movie about a killer semi.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison's Phone at October 19, 2019 08:47 PM (zZbCU)

66 " Is it possible that what we regard as B movies are, in some cases,
nothing more than "test drives" for some directors to screw around and
see what is possible and what they would like to work on in the future
as a no-kidding A-movie?"

Supposedly, Hitchcock's Psycho was an experiment to see what would happen if someone really good made a B movie.

Posted by: davidt at October 19, 2019 08:47 PM (RAfu9)

67 I don't know which early Cleopatra it was (maybe the lost silent one), but the massive sets were left behind on the isolated CA central coast beach where it was shot, and every ten years or so a good sized storm will uncover parts of "ancient Egypt" near Pismo.
Posted by: Rusty Nail at October 19, 2019 08:40 PM (I99aF)

I think that you're actually referring to the set of Cecil B. DeMille's 1923 The Ten Commandments:

https://tinyurl.com/yyqnb5md

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 19, 2019 08:48 PM (Ki5SV)

68 60
I always recommend Sunset Boulevard, of course, and One, Two, Three. But I would be interested to know what you think of The Emperor Waltz, with Bing Crosby and Joan Fontaine.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 19, 2019 08:45 PM (Ki5SV)

=====

I'm going through them all.

And that's the one I watched earlier today.

Quite delightful, and self aware of the conventions of musicals. I really enjoyed it.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison's Phone at October 19, 2019 08:48 PM (zZbCU)

69 "Barry Lyndon" is best watched while debauching a saucy wench.

Posted by: Zod at October 19, 2019 08:49 PM (XzT/D)

70 61 I am going to have to break down and watch one of these silent films. I think to start it will be the Great KA Train Robbery. If it is a Western it will be easier to appreciate the different art. No way I can just start with silent and super weird Also I will check out Buster Keaton at some point. His films sound interesting and important.
Posted by: Quint at October 19, 2019 08:45 PM (n13/

=====

The Great Train Robbery is a short, so it won't take long.

And yeah, Keaton. I'd recommend starting with The General. It's also an action movie with fantastic setpieces.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison's Phone at October 19, 2019 08:50 PM (zZbCU)

71 The wife and I saw "Joker" today. We could barely talk afterwards. What a film. What a performance. Phoenix took from Nicholson and Ledger's Jokers and added heartbreaking pathos.

And it didn't hurt that there was an anti-Antifa vibe to it.

Posted by: Taro Tsujimoto at October 19, 2019 08:51 PM (j4zcI)

72 Anyone looking forward to the release of Star Wars IX? I'm not.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero)

I celebrate its opening because that signals the final end of the long national nightmare that Star Wars has become.

Hoping against hope that they really will end it.

Posted by: Sharkman at October 19, 2019 08:51 PM (88cFV)

73 Supposedly, Hitchcock's Psycho was an experiment to see what would happen if someone really good made a B movie.
Posted by: davidt at October 19, 2019 08:47 PM (RAfu9)

-------

It is said that when Paramount greenlighted The Godfather it was expected that Coppola would just churn out a B movie gangster flick.

Coppola had other ideas and fought the studio the entire way to let him make something that was large scale and operatic.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at October 19, 2019 08:52 PM (XVuno)

74 looking back at Kubrick's filmography, it is pretty much a joke how talented the guy was. 2001 was beyond original I know people who have never been interested in sci fi that were transfixed by that movie. Throw in The Killing, Barry Lyndon, Spartacus, and most of FMJ And those are just the films I liked. If he is not top five all time I don't know who is.

Posted by: Quint at October 19, 2019 08:52 PM (n13/j)

75 74 looking back at Kubrick's filmography, it is pretty much a joke how talented the guy was. 2001 was beyond original I know people who have never been interested in sci fi that were transfixed by that movie. Throw in The Killing, Barry Lyndon, Spartacus, and most of FMJ And those are just the films I liked. If he is not top five all time I don't know who is.
Posted by: Quint at October 19, 2019 08:52 PM (n13/

======

"What about me?"
-Ed Wood

Posted by: TheJamesMadison's Phone at October 19, 2019 08:53 PM (zZbCU)

76 "Corvette Summer" is not the best film of all time.

Posted by: Zod at October 19, 2019 08:53 PM (XzT/D)

77 I am going to have to break down and watch one of these silent films. I think to start it will be the Great KA Train Robbery. If it is a Western it will be easier to appreciate the different art. No way I can just start with silent and super weird Also I will check out Buster Keaton at some point. His films sound interesting and important.

There is a Lon Chaney movie I recommend for a first time silent called 'Tell It To The Marines.' It tells a good, followable story, and has a great performance by Chaney with no makeup or fantastic elements.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at October 19, 2019 08:54 PM (oVJmc)

78 The Great Train Robbery is a short, so it won't take long.

And yeah, Keaton. I'd recommend starting with The General. It's also an action movie with fantastic setpieces.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison's Phone at October 19, 2019 08:50 PM (zZbCU)

Will Do. Your posts illuminated the genre. No way I would have thought about it without them.

Posted by: Quint at October 19, 2019 08:54 PM (n13/j)

79 I still think _Aelita, Queen of Mars_ is the most batshit insane silent movie ever made. Ever seen that one, MPPPP?

Posted by: Trimegistus at October 19, 2019 08:54 PM (DYSh2)

80 I am going to have to break down and watch one of these silent films. I think to start it will be the Great KA Train Robbery. If it is a Western it will be easier to appreciate the different art. No way I can just start with silent and super weird Also I will check out Buster Keaton at some point. His films sound interesting and important.
Posted by: Quint at October 19, 2019 08:45 PM (n13/j)

The Great Train Robbery is actually a good place to start. It's not very long and does tell a fairly coherent story. Silent comedy is a difficult genre - something I like might not be something you would like, although I would recommend any of the Fatty Arbuckle / Buster Keaton shorts, such as The Garage from 1920:

https://tinyurl.com/y4k4zzv6 (try to ignore the rinky-dink piano score).

As far as Keaton is concerned, I think The General is his best movie, though it does sag a little bit in the middle.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 19, 2019 08:54 PM (Ki5SV)

81 "...just as the witches of the Middle Ages were tortured and forced to confess their worship of Satan..."

The witch craze was a Renaissance and early Modern phenomenon. The first witch trial on record took place in 1500. There's a lot of misinformation about this out there. 99% of the time, the Christian church stopped witch trials. It was local folk religion that really fueled them. The 1% of the time when the church let them happen, or even played a role in them, are noteworthy for being so out of the ordinary.

Posted by: Jim S. at October 19, 2019 08:55 PM (ynUnH)

82 I still think _Aelita, Queen of Mars_ is the most batshit insane silent movie ever made. Ever seen that one, MPPPP?
Posted by: Trimegistus at October 19, 2019 08:54 PM (DYSh2)

I actually haven't, though it's been on my "list" for a long time. Hell, I still have Frau Im Mond in my queue and haven't watched it yet. I really should grab a copy and watch.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 19, 2019 08:56 PM (Ki5SV)

83 >>99% of the time, the Christian church stopped witch trials. It was local folk religion that really fueled them. Posted by: Jim S. at October 19, 2019 08:55 PM (ynUnH)

You will produce sourcing for this peculiar assertion.

Posted by: Zod at October 19, 2019 08:56 PM (XzT/D)

84 Watch The General and see if you like it.

Posted by: Skip at October 19, 2019 08:57 PM (ZCEU2)

85 Zod's handguns are never loaded with tow.

Posted by: Zod at October 19, 2019 08:58 PM (XzT/D)

86 Eyes Wide Shut is either underrated or overrated. I rate it "rated".

Posted by: Boulder t'hobo at October 19, 2019 08:58 PM (Dqci2)

87 It turns out I was thinking of De Mille's silent Ten Commandments. The sets in question are buried in the dunes near Guadalupe, just south of San Luis Obispo.

This should not be confused with the Charlton Heston Ten Commandments, which came much later.

Posted by: Rusty Nail at October 19, 2019 08:58 PM (I99aF)

88 Six Modern Myths about Christianity and Western Civilization by Philip Sampson, chapter 6. Also The Witch in History by Diane Purkiss.

Posted by: Jim S. at October 19, 2019 08:58 PM (ynUnH)

89 "Corvette Summer" is not the best film of all time.

Posted by: Zod at October 19, 2019 08:53 PM (XzT/D)

I disagree.

Posted by: Mark H. at October 19, 2019 08:59 PM (n13/j)

90 85 Zod's handguns are never loaded with tow.
Posted by: Zod at October 19, 2019 08:58 PM (XzT/D)

======

Note to self:

Do not get in staged duel with Zod.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison's Phone at October 19, 2019 08:59 PM (zZbCU)

91 A movie that you might think a horror piece but which really isn't is Eyes of the Mummy from 1918, starring a young Pola Negri.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 19, 2019 09:00 PM (Ki5SV)

92 here is a Lon Chaney movie I recommend for a first
time silent called 'Tell It To The Marines.' It tells a good,
followable story, and has a great performance by Chaney with no makeup
or fantastic elements.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at October 19, 2019 08:54 PM (oVJmc)

thanks to all for the reccos. i will check that one out too.

Posted by: Quint at October 19, 2019 09:00 PM (n13/j)

93 Spielberg's first was a TV movie about a killer semi.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison's Phone

---

"Duel" with Dennis Weaver and a semi.

Semi not credited.

Posted by: Tonypete at October 19, 2019 09:00 PM (Y4EXg)

94 I still think _Aelita, Queen of Mars_ is the most batshit insane silent movie ever made. Ever seen that one, MPPPP?

I *HATE* that movie. It's pushed as a science-fiction film but it's really just a dreary film about dreary life following the Russian Revolution.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at October 19, 2019 09:01 PM (oVJmc)

95 So, basically, Haxan is a Jack Chick flick.

Director hates the Church, hates Christianity, and is fully pig-ignorant about the Inquisition(s).

Of course, in fairness, back in the 1920s the only Official Version of the inquisitions was the Black Legend popularized by English protestants.

Posted by: Eleanor, What the Cat Dragged In at October 19, 2019 09:01 PM (QU+qf)

96 Duel" with Dennis Weaver and a semi.

Semi not credited.
Posted by: Tonypete at October 19, 2019 09:00 PM (Y4EXg)

--------

Anthropomorphic SUVs were not yet a thing back then.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at October 19, 2019 09:01 PM (XVuno)

97 Catch Thirty-Thr33:

I would also like to see 1917, as it is a WWI flick and allegedly is one long take. It will be a struggle for me, though, to swallow the premise: A company (110 men) of British soldiers will be annihilated in a coming attack unless a soldier can get a message to them of some sort.

I will be sitting there saying: "AYFKM? The British will expect to lose 110 men in the first millisecond of any attack, and by 1917 had lost 500,000 men killed. What could possibly be so special about these 110 men that the British army would actually try to keep them from being killed in an attack?"

Anyway, still looks like it will be an interesting film.

Posted by: Sharkman at October 19, 2019 09:02 PM (88cFV)

98 Mad Max Beyond the Thunderdome is more dreamlike than I remembered. Probably less masculine and dangerous than the other three. Tina Turner seems to not be used to her full potential.

Posted by: BourbonChicken at October 19, 2019 09:02 PM (LxTcq)

99

The ca

Posted by: Soothsayer, very senile at October 19, 2019 09:03 PM (EdeJT)

100
The car AND the truck from DUEL was used in an episode of The Incredible Hulk tv series. For real.

So, naturally, someone made this "alternative ending" to Duel...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjhtr0vTtcw

Posted by: Soothsayer, very senile at October 19, 2019 09:06 PM (EdeJT)

101 The link to your full review of Joker goes to your review of Exorcist II.

Posted by: Jim S. at October 19, 2019 09:08 PM (ynUnH)

102 Saw the trailer for 1917, think I'd go see it

Posted by: Skip at October 19, 2019 09:08 PM (ZCEU2)

103
The link to your full review of Joker goes to your review of Exorcist II.

Posted by: Jim S.

Your point?

Posted by: Soothsayer, very senile at October 19, 2019 09:09 PM (EdeJT)

104 101 The link to your full review of Joker goes to your review of Exorcist II.
Posted by: Jim S. at October 19, 2019 09:08 PM (ynUnH

=====

Remove space. Sorry.

https://davidmvining.wordpress.com/ 2019/10/06/joker/

Posted by: TheJamesMadison's Phone at October 19, 2019 09:09 PM (zZbCU)

105 Someone should make a horror-documentary about Baron von Ungern-Sternberg. That would be a crazy, awesome movie.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at October 19, 2019 09:10 PM (5aX2M)

106 Trump killed Bambi's mom.

Posted by: Ignoramus at October 19, 2019 09:11 PM (Kr4LK)

107 There is nothing wrong with "The Sound Of Music" that could not be improved by addition of two strafing Me-109s in the hilltop-dancing scene.

This is known.

Posted by: Zod at October 19, 2019 09:11 PM (XzT/D)

108
The car AND the truck from DUEL was used in an episode of The Incredible Hulk tv series. For real.

The TV show reused footage from the movie. You'd be surprised how often what you see as a TV episode is just filler around film clips.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at October 19, 2019 09:11 PM (oVJmc)

109 Cicero, your bold challenge to my pedantry re German operation code names in the last thread spurred me to review the topic and in so doing I came across a movie, so on-topic, kinda.

Documentary - rah-rah propaganda style, done during the war - "Rout of the German Forces Before Moscow". Just began it, but it's good, for those with an interest in such things. Apparently it was released in the US too.

The music is mostly variations on the melody of the rousing classic, "March of the Defenders of Moscow" - so probably won't find it in mixes of best movie scores. And no commercial product placements, far as I can tell ......

Posted by: rhomboid at October 19, 2019 09:12 PM (QDnY+)

110
There is nothing wrong with "The Sound Of Music" that could not be
improved by addition of two strafing Me-109s in the hilltop-dancing
scene.

This is known.

Posted by: Zod at October 19, 2019 09:11 PM (XzT/D)

See the Dave Allen (Irish comedian) version

Posted by: TheQuietMan at October 19, 2019 09:12 PM (Um89f)

111 mad max is a western. thunderdome is an opera.

Posted by: mjc at October 19, 2019 09:12 PM (Pg+x7)

112

Yeah, it's called B-Roll.

Posted by: Soothsayer, very senile at October 19, 2019 09:13 PM (EdeJT)

113 I think the semi from DUEL did petition to join SAG but Vin Diesel had already been taken.

( Sorry, couldn't resist. )

Posted by: Tonypete at October 19, 2019 09:14 PM (Y4EXg)

114 "Semi not credited"

I did it as a favor for Spielberg. But the c*cksucker never gave me the role he promised

Posted by: Brian Dennehey at October 19, 2019 09:14 PM (Kr4LK)

115 I will be sitting there saying: "AYFKM? The British will expect to lose 110 men in the first millisecond of any attack, and by 1917 had lost 500,000 men killed. What could possibly be so special about these 110 men that the British army would actually try to keep them from being killed in an attack?"

Anyway, still looks like it will be an interesting film.
Posted by: Sharkman at October 19, 2019 09:02 PM (88cFV)

Agreed on both counts. Given the Brits had no qualms about coughing up 50,000 or so in a single day, what's the value of 110? For me, I just want to see a rare film about WWI.

I saw a modern version of All Quiet On The Western Front in 9th Grade in history class. It easily makes the list of Top 5 Most Depressing Movies I Have Ever Seen.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at October 19, 2019 09:15 PM (ZXzOT)

116 There is nothing wrong with "The Silence Of The Lambs" that could not be improved by the capture of Agent Starling and her joining the 'fat girl' at the bottom of Jame Gumb's dungeon-well, roll credits.

Posted by: Zod at October 19, 2019 09:15 PM (XzT/D)

117 Yeah, it's called B-Roll.

I've been watching The Time Tunnel (which I never got the opportunity to see before) and it's actually a brilliant idea on Irwin Allen's part, considering how many movies (like Khartoum) he could edit around while not having to film large chunks of each episode. Cheap, fast, and plenty of production value.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at October 19, 2019 09:16 PM (oVJmc)

118 115
Agreed on both counts. Given the Brits had no qualms about coughing up 50,000 or so in a single day, what's the value of 110? For me, I just want to see a rare film about WWI.

I saw a modern version of All Quiet On The Western Front in 9th Grade in history class. It easily makes the list of Top 5 Most Depressing Movies I Have Ever Seen.
Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at October 19, 2019 09:15 PM (ZXzOT)

=====

Ever seen A Very Long Engagement?

It's French and set during World War I by the guy who made Amelie (and...um...Alien Resurrection). It's very very good.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison's Phone at October 19, 2019 09:17 PM (zZbCU)

119 I saw a modern version of All Quiet On The Western Front in 9th Grade in history class. It easily makes the list of Top 5 Most Depressing Movies I Have Ever Seen.
Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33

----

Was that the one with Ernest Borgnine and Richard Thomas?

Yeah. Downer.

Posted by: Tonypete at October 19, 2019 09:17 PM (Y4EXg)

120 Re-watched "The Exorcist 3 (Legion)" today. Absolutely excellent, better than the first movie.
Kinderman: You know, I wonder if both of us are dreaming this.Father Dyer: No, Bill. I'm not dreaming.

Posted by: SaltyDonnie at October 19, 2019 09:18 PM (nWmg2)

121 98 Mad Max Beyond the Thunderdome is more dreamlike than I remembered. Probably less masculine and dangerous than the other three. Tina Turner seems to not be used to her full potential.
Posted by: BourbonChicken at October 19, 2019 09:02 PM (LxTcq)

I admit I prefer Mad Max and The Road Warrior. Beyond Thunderdome is good but it lacks the gritty feel of the previous two. I've always said Beyond Thunderdome is a more polished, slicker variation of the Mad Max movies.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at October 19, 2019 09:18 PM (ZXzOT)

122 Nice thread......thanks MP4!

Silent movies are fascinating as they give us a glimpse of a time when movies where still in their infancy and still give great entertainment and knowledge when compared to today's drek.

Like messages in a bottle from a more civilized time.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at October 19, 2019 09:18 PM (Z+IKu)

123
109 Cicero, your bold challenge to my pedantry re German operation code names in the last thread spurred me to review the topic and in so doing I came across a movie, so on-topic, kinda.

-------

Wait. Should I get a restraining order?

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at October 19, 2019 09:19 PM (XVuno)

124 There is nothing wrong with "The Sound Of Music" that could not be
improved by addition of two strafing Me-109s in the hilltop-dancing
scene.

Or even better Capt Hilts racing by on a BMW motorbike in a German uniform chased by a squad of Germans on motorbikes with sidecars

Posted by: Skip at October 19, 2019 09:19 PM (ZCEU2)

125 Was that the one with Ernest Borgnine and Richard Thomas?

Yeah. Downer.
Posted by: Tonypete at October 19, 2019 09:17 PM (Y4EXg)

The same. I recognized Ernest Borgnine in it but now one else sprang to mind.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at October 19, 2019 09:20 PM (ZXzOT)

126

Irwin Allen vs Quinn Martin?

Posted by: Soothsayer, very senile at October 19, 2019 09:22 PM (EdeJT)

127 I saw a modern version of All Quiet On The Western Front in 9th Grade in history class. It easily makes the list of Top 5 Most Depressing Movies I Have Ever Seen.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33

Mostly because they gave the Paul Baumer role to Fucking John Boy Walton, but also the combat and ending.

Want depressing war film? I just finished watching The Pacific, ten part miniseries by the same folks who made Band of Brothers.

The last three episodes of The Pacific are EB Sledge fighting on Peleliu and Okinawa. Just awful, horrible relentless combat in the worst conditions possible. Sledge survived and wrote With The Old Breed On Peleliu and Okinawa, a classic.

Posted by: Sharkman at October 19, 2019 09:22 PM (88cFV)

128 All Quiet on the Western Front is another great movie but as it's right after the war it's going to be a sad anti war movie.

Posted by: Skip at October 19, 2019 09:23 PM (ZCEU2)

129 I like "Marooned: A Tragedy On Three Bases" performed by the Yankees tonight

Posted by: Boulder t'hobo at October 19, 2019 09:24 PM (aUjDc)

130 >>Sledge survived and wrote With The Old Breed On Peleliu and Okinawa, a classic.
Posted by: Sharkman at October 19, 2019 09:22 PM (88cFV)

"Helmet For My Pillow" is good, too.

Posted by: Zod at October 19, 2019 09:24 PM (XzT/D)

131 WW1 was wasteful and like many wars, seems pointless once it was over. But no doubt popular history has won the World War 1 debate. That war in particular is deemed wasteful and even complicit in ways other wars are not. You don't see WW2 portrayed as senseless waste like you do WW1 It gets to the point of shows like Blackadder that show the leaders as basically insane.

My guess is that goes too far and is only part of the story. You used to see the same with popular views of the US Civil War. You would constantly hear or read "how stupid were they to line up like that and get shot" Or, "the doctors were so barbaric, they just sawed off legs".

The reality is usually a bit different if you dig a little deeper. I am not saying WW1 was not a waste, for sure it was. But tactics and technology can catch up with you sometimes. And it is chauvinistic to think we know better while the people living that experience were clueless. You see that with the Civil War. People today think the Generals had no clue how dangerous the weapons were.

Anyway, i bet they knew this is ww1 but didn't come up with a better alternative.

Posted by: Quint at October 19, 2019 09:25 PM (n13/j)

132 The plot of Joker is 1) Taxi Driver, 2) King of Comedy, and 3) Bernard Goetz, the Subway Vigilante, put in a blender with a dollop of Bruce Wayne origin

I found the first half good at giving the feel of The Bronx in the 70s where and when I grew up

Posted by: Brian Dennehey at October 19, 2019 09:26 PM (ARoqv)

133
On Rifftrax I saw a steaming turd called Birdemic. It's The Birds Meets Greta Thunberg. The birds are attacking people because of global warming. It's Manos: The Hands of Fate level of film making with a lefty preachy message.

Posted by: TheQuietMan at October 19, 2019 08:18 PM (Um89f)

-----------------

I still have no idea what that movie is trying to do. It is terrible in every possible way. Its only value is to be made fun of.

Posted by: No One of Consequence at October 19, 2019 09:26 PM (CAJOC)

134 Hey everybody! .. just kidding it's only me.

Posted by: > alan lana < at October 19, 2019 09:27 PM (B+t5k)

135 a better alternativve to WW1 would be almost any alrernative.

Posted by: Boulder t'hobo at October 19, 2019 09:27 PM (aUjDc)

136 135 a better alternativve to WW1 would be almost any alrernative.
Posted by: Boulder t'hobo at October 19, 2019 09:27 PM (aUjDc)

=====

"Does that include me?"
-The Russian Revolution

Posted by: TheJamesMadison's Phone at October 19, 2019 09:28 PM (zZbCU)

137 Would love to stay up until the ONT but 4am comes early even if I don't have any reason to get up then.
Good night horde

Posted by: Skip at October 19, 2019 09:28 PM (ZCEU2)

138

"Helmet For My Pillow" is good, too.

Posted by: Zod at October 19, 2019 09:24 PM (XzT/D)

Starring Mike Lindell

Posted by: TheQuietMan at October 19, 2019 09:29 PM (Um89f)

139 134 Hey everybody! .. just kidding it's only me.
Posted by: > alan lana

--------------------------

With that nick, you should have just said "Surprise!"

Posted by: No One of Consequence at October 19, 2019 09:29 PM (CAJOC)

140 And if I made a horror movie about the Mad Baron, I'd work from the assumption that his belief that he was the reincarnation of Genghis Khan and the living manifestation of the God of War were correct. And there'd be dead commies all over the place of course.

It could be a really cool horror movie.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at October 19, 2019 09:29 PM (5aX2M)

141 >>Or even better Capt Hilts racing by on a BMW motorbike in a German uniform chased by a squad of Germans on motorbikes with sidecars
Posted by: Skip at October 19, 2019 09:19 PM (ZCEU2)

Yakety sax.

Posted by: Zod at October 19, 2019 09:29 PM (XzT/D)

142 I still have no idea what that movie is trying to
do. It is terrible in every possible way. Its only value is to be made
fun of.

Posted by: No One of Consequence at October 19, 2019 09:26 PM (CAJOC)

It is shit-tastically bad. It's Manos: The Hands of Fate level bad film making but with the lefty bilge throw in it's even worse. There was a sequel made apparently just as bad and the writer/director wants to make a third one.

Posted by: TheQuietMan at October 19, 2019 09:31 PM (Um89f)

143 The plot of Joker is 1) Taxi Driver, 2) King of Comedy, and 3) Bernard Goetz, the Subway Vigilante, put in a blender with a dollop of Bruce Wayne origin

I found the first half good at giving the feel of The Bronx in the 70s where and when I grew up
Posted by: Brian Dennehey at October 19, 2019 09:26 PM (ARoqv)

That's a good summary, and indicates why I don't have any desire to see that movie.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 19, 2019 09:31 PM (Ki5SV)

144 Gallipoli was a great, depressing WWI movie.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at October 19, 2019 09:31 PM (5aX2M)

145 144 Gallipoli was a great, depressing WWI movie.
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at October 19, 2019 09:31 PM (5aX2M)

=====

Is there a happy go lucky fun WW1 movie?

Like, song and dance in the trenches?

I want there to be one.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison's Phone at October 19, 2019 09:32 PM (zZbCU)

146 "Lair Of The White Worm" is not the best horror film of all time.

Posted by: Zod at October 19, 2019 09:33 PM (XzT/D)

147 the Italian run at World War I was pretty comical.

Posted by: Boulder t'hobo at October 19, 2019 09:33 PM (aUjDc)

148 Since there's some discussion of bad movies, I ought to mention Michael Adams' Showgirls, Teen Wolves and Astro Zombies: A Film Critic's Year-Long Quest to Find the Worst Movie Ever Made:

https://tinyurl.com/y632y33j

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 19, 2019 09:33 PM (Ki5SV)

149 "I think (and repeat viewings convince me) that he attributed their "hysteria" to a morbid preoccupation with sin. Not sex, but religion is responsible for suffering."

This has the ring of truth to it.

Posted by: Insomniac at October 19, 2019 09:34 PM (NWiLs)

150 >>144 Gallipoli was a great, depressing WWI movie.
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at October 19, 2019 09:31 PM (5aX2M)

The series by the same name is really good.

Posted by: Zod at October 19, 2019 09:34 PM (XzT/D)

151 The plot of Joker is 1) Taxi Driver, 2) King of
Comedy, and 3) Bernard Goetz, the Subway Vigilante, put in a blender
with a dollop of Bruce Wayne origin

I found the first half good at giving the feel of The Bronx in the 70s where and when I grew up

Posted by: Brian Dennehey at October 19, 2019 09:26 PM (ARoqv)

That's a good summary, and indicates why I don't have any desire to see that movie.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 19, 2019 09:31 PM (Ki5SV)

Is it really that strong? Taxi Driver, Bernie Goetz? I thought the left was just projecting. If so, it seems dated though we could be going back to that NYC I guess. I might see Joker just to piss off the left. The last batman movie I saw wast the Dark Knight. And that was on the teevee.

Posted by: Quint at October 19, 2019 09:35 PM (n13/j)

152 Some movies are so bad that they can be fun to watch.

I put Showgirls in this category

Posted by: Brian Dennehey at October 19, 2019 09:37 PM (o2gg/)

153 151 Is it really that strong? Taxi Driver, Bernie Goetz? I thought the left was just projecting. If so, it seems dated though we could be going back to that NYC I guess. I might see Joker just to piss off the left. The last batman movie I saw wast the Dark Knight. And that was on the teevee.
Posted by: Quint at October 19, 2019 09:35 PM (n13/j)

=====

The Dark Knight Rises pissed off the far left because it is a retelling of A Tale of Two Cities and the modern left are Jacobins.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison's Phone at October 19, 2019 09:37 PM (zZbCU)

154
Is there a happy go lucky fun WW1 movie?

Sergeant York

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at October 19, 2019 09:38 PM (aKsyK)

155 "Bone Tomahawk."

"They don't eat negroes."
"Why not? Do they think they're poisonous?"

Probably Kurt Russell's finest work.

Posted by: Zod at October 19, 2019 09:38 PM (XzT/D)

156 Yes it is that strong. And The Bronx of that time could be that bad

Posted by: Brian Dennehey at October 19, 2019 09:38 PM (Ijy7v)

157 Is there a happy go lucky fun WW1 movie?

Like, song and dance in the trenches?

I want there to be one.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison's Phone at October 19, 2019 09:32 PM (zZbCU)

Did you ever see All This And World War II?

https://tinyurl.com/y6gyduap

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 19, 2019 09:38 PM (Ki5SV)

158 the Italian run at World War I was pretty comical.

Posted by: Boulder t'hobo at October 19, 2019 09:33 PM (aUjDc)

Have you seen Mediterraneo? it was set in WW2 but pretty comical as well. I realize it is simplistic and a generalization, but they showed the Italians as a nation are not really that big on war and conquest these days. They showed they care more about La Dolce Vita, and I don't fault them for that. I understand it is just a movie and only one side of the Italian character.

Regardless, it is a good movie.

Posted by: Quint at October 19, 2019 09:39 PM (n13/j)

159 OT - Just heard of building collapse in New Orleans.

*looks around for Engineer-in-a-Box CAD/CAM software*

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 19, 2019 09:39 PM (Pu/Kw)

160 Is there a happy go lucky fun WW1 movie?

Like, song and dance in the trenches?

I want there to be one.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison's Phone at October 19, 2019 09:32 PM (zZbCU)

Joyeux Noel - 2005 is set during the Christmas truce of 1914 has singing in the trenches. Including Diane Kruger singing for the troops from both sides

Posted by: TheQuietMan at October 19, 2019 09:40 PM (Um89f)

161 "Bone Tomahawk."
Probably Kurt Russell's finest work.
Posted by: Zod

I think it's available on Prime right now.

Posted by: Blutarski at October 19, 2019 09:40 PM (VNfwt)

162 Pure bullshit. It was the Catholic Church that sent Inquisators out to determine if real witchcraft was being done or if false claims were being made against widows in efforts to steal the leaseholds. In most cases, the person being accused was given a chance to explain and, if necessary, a chance to repent.

Posted by: JAS at October 19, 2019 09:40 PM (DBGf/)

163 Joyeux Noel - 2005 is set during the Christmas truce of 1914 has singing in the trenches. Including Diane Kruger singing for the troops from both sides
Posted by: TheQuietMan at October 19, 2019 09:40 PM (Um89f)

---------

Singing in the trenches is TIGHT

Posted by: Pitch Meeting Guy at October 19, 2019 09:41 PM (XVuno)

164 >>I think it's available on Prime right now.
Posted by: Blutarski at October 19, 2019 09:40 PM (VNfwt)

It is. With luck, there will be a sequel.

Posted by: Zod at October 19, 2019 09:41 PM (XzT/D)

165 Including Diane Kruger singing for the troops from both sides
Posted by: TheQuietMan at October 19, 2019 09:40 PM (Um89f)

----------

I'm tired
Tired of being admired
Tired of love and desire

Posted by: Lili Von Schtupp at October 19, 2019 09:42 PM (XVuno)

166 >>a chance to explain and, if necessary, a chance to repent. Posted by: JAS at October 19, 2019 09:40 PM (DBGf/)

And, if necessary, a chance to die in a state of grace.

Posted by: Zod at October 19, 2019 09:43 PM (XzT/D)

167 what JAS said . leyenda negra, indeed.

Posted by: Boulder t'hobo at October 19, 2019 09:43 PM (aUjDc)

168 '
the Italian run at World War I was pretty comical.
"
Earnest Hemingway would disagree. Nothing like Military Police arresting you and you being tried and immediately executed to take the comedy out of it.

Posted by: JAS at October 19, 2019 09:43 PM (DBGf/)

169 161 "Bone Tomahawk."
Probably Kurt Russell's finest work.
Posted by: Zod

I think it's available on Prime right now.
Posted by: Blutarski at October 19, 2019 09:40 PM (VNfwt)

That movie caught me completely by surprise. I thought it was going to be more or less a standard western. Heh. Little did I know...

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader & Pants Monitor at October 19, 2019 09:45 PM (jjpZH)

170 169 161 "Bone Tomahawk."
Probably Kurt Russell's finest work.
Posted by: Zod

I think it's available on Prime right now.
Posted by: Blutarski at October 19, 2019 09:40 PM (VNfwt)

That movie caught me completely by surprise. I thought it was going to be more or less a standard western. Heh. Little did I know...
Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader & Pants Monitor at October 19, 2019 09:45 PM (jjpZH)

It went from zero to WTF pretty quick toward the end.

Posted by: Insomniac at October 19, 2019 09:46 PM (NWiLs)

171 Dear Santa:

Zod has been good this year. For Christmas he would like a throat-whistle like the guys have in the bone tomahawk movie, which was awesome (have you and Mrs. Claus seen it? You should!)

Cookies and milk in the usual place.

Thanks and bye,
your friend Zod

Posted by: Zod at October 19, 2019 09:48 PM (XzT/D)

172 I watched Forbidden Planet last night. I've always thought that if I wasn't (a) grossly fat and (b) unable to sew a stitch, I'd like to go to a con dressed as one of the crew of the C57-D.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 19, 2019 09:49 PM (Ki5SV)

173 Peak Anne Francis. Twin peaks actually

Posted by: Brian Dennehey at October 19, 2019 09:51 PM (8/I0m)

174 Twin peaks actually

Posted by: Brian Dennehey at October 19, 2019 09:51 PM (8/I0m)

Speaking of that. The Caves of Androzani is on the Dr Who channel on Pluto TV. Nicola Bryant was a terrible actress but wow did she have...yuge tracks of land

Posted by: TheQuietMan at October 19, 2019 09:53 PM (Um89f)

175 Small market underdogs from The Bronx putting up a fight. Can they overcome Satanic Kate Upton Ju Ju?

Posted by: Ignoramus at October 19, 2019 09:54 PM (fmKKb)

176 What about dressing up as Walter Pidgeon? Yeah. Anne Francis. Bunk time.
Leslie Nielsen was a serious actor once. Go figure.

Posted by: JAS at October 19, 2019 09:54 PM (DBGf/)

177 I see 'Christine' is almost over on AMC. The scene where the flaming Fury runs down the running thug is one of my favorite scenes. Too bad about his Camaro though.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 19, 2019 09:56 PM (Pu/Kw)

178 I have been on the fence with Bone Tomahawk. It comes up as a recommended film. I guess i will have to check it out.

Posted by: Quint at October 19, 2019 09:56 PM (n13/j)

179 a better alternativve to WW1 would be almost any alrernative.

Posted by: Boulder t'hobo

I once called in to a radio show in Seattle during which the guest kept saying:

"Imagine a world without nuclear weapons!!!"

I said: "World War II. 55 million dead, and then nuclear weapons ended it."

The guest was too much hippie to get the point, sadly.

Posted by: Sharkman at October 19, 2019 09:58 PM (88cFV)

180 "Can they overcome Satanic Kate Upton Ju Ju?"

Kate Upton can come over to my place

Posted by: Boulder t'hobo at October 19, 2019 09:59 PM (aUjDc)

181 >>178 I have been on the fence with Bone Tomahawk. It comes up as a recommended film. I guess i will have to check it out.
Posted by: Quint at October 19, 2019 09:56 PM (n13/j)

It's complex and misunderstood. Deserves a thoughtful, attentive viewing.

Posted by: Zod at October 19, 2019 09:59 PM (XzT/D)

182 Well, it's been nice hanging out with you all. Hope you enjoyed my little post.

Have a lovely weekend.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 19, 2019 09:59 PM (Ki5SV)

183 >>Kate Upton can come over to my place
Posted by: Boulder t'hobo at October 19, 2019 09:59 PM (aUjDc)

Chelsea Clinton.

Posted by: Zod at October 19, 2019 10:02 PM (XzT/D)

184 Oh and one more note... Roman Fyodorovich Ungern-Sternberg was the only White commander - perhaps the only human being, period - who Feliks Dzerzhinsky feared and respected.

He even spooked out Iron freakin' Feliks.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at October 19, 2019 10:04 PM (5aX2M)

185 182 thanks for doing it. I will look into this movie because you took the effort. It won't be my first choice but it will be remembered. There is nothing like learning something new.

Posted by: Quint at October 19, 2019 10:04 PM (n13/j)

186 the Russian Civil War was one conflict I wished all the sides lost. except the Czechs and Poles.

the White armies spent too much time playing The Running Of The Jew and not enough time consolidating their positions and coordinating tactics

Posted by: Boulder t'hobo at October 19, 2019 10:07 PM (aUjDc)

187 Regarding Witchcraft Through the Ages, when I recently saw the scene of the hysterical "modern" woman imagining her physician magically entering her room in the middle of the night to molest her, my first thought was, "She was the Christine Blasey-Ford of the 1920s!"

But, no, not really, because the crazy woman of the 1920s was not deliberately lying.

Posted by: Pete in TX at October 19, 2019 10:14 PM (2RBkF)

188 the White armies spent too much time playing The Running Of The Jew and not enough time consolidating their positions and coordinating tactics
Posted by: Boulder t'hobo at October 19, 2019 10:07 PM (aUjDc)

-------

This was a problem. But moreso, the quibbling over monarchism versus provisional government. I'd argue that Semenov and the above mentioned Mad Baron were their best commanders, but Wrangel and Kolchak basically anathematized them.

And it didn't help that Ungern-Sternberg was a barking mad Buddhist ascetic Baltic-German Tsarist warlord who dreamt of a global Mongolian Khanate above the other goals.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at October 19, 2019 10:15 PM (5aX2M)

189 The movie that has haunted me through the decades - since 1968 - is "The Conqueror Worm" with Vincent Price. The ending is weird, unfinished, bizarre.

Posted by: Grannymimi at October 19, 2019 10:17 PM (u5LFV)

190 Also, while I haven't yet watched Carl Theodor Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc, I have seen another "witch hunt" movie by the same director, Day of Wrath. Oddly enough, the star of the latter movie is a dead ringer for Elizabeth Montgomery in Bewitched.

Posted by: Pete in TX at October 19, 2019 10:22 PM (2RBkF)

191 Just finished Haxan. I'm pleasantly surprised that it was as well done as it was. Nosferatu good.

Posted by: Rob in Seattle at October 20, 2019 12:28 AM (INhlc)

192 179 a better alternativve to WW1 would be almost any alrernative.

Posted by: Boulder t'hobo

I once called in to a radio show in Seattle during which the guest kept saying:

"Imagine a world without nuclear weapons!!!"

I said: "World War II. 55 million dead, and then nuclear weapons ended it."

The guest was too much hippie to get the point, sadly.

Posted by: Sharkman at October 19, 2019 09:58 PM (88cFV)

Bravo, Sharkman.

Posted by: m at October 20, 2019 03:22 AM (I9xeT)

193 Here is the trouble watching Haxan as a person who is a serious, albeit amateur, Egyptologist: About 5 minutes in, the Egyptian goddess of childbirth was depicted as an element of evil. Hard pass at that point.

Posted by: Mutnodjmet at October 20, 2019 09:58 AM (sPJyv)

194 PS. However, after switching off Haxan, I turned to a delightful Italian horror made in the 1970's, Suprisia. I enjoyed that, for a seasonal film treat. There is also an newer version of the film with Tilda Swinton.

Posted by: Mutnodjmet at October 20, 2019 09:59 AM (sPJyv)

195 So I'll probably get chewed out for posting to an old thread but it'll be worth it. Thank you, MP4. This was excellent.

Posted by: creeper at October 20, 2019 10:53 AM (MHz7Y)

196 145. Is there a happy go lucky fun WW1 movie?

Like, song and dance in the trenches?

I want there to be one.
The closest I can come to that is Oh! What a Lovely War (1969), directed by Richard Attenborough. It's actually an anti-war film, but told by contemporary musical numbers. It's a forgotten gem.

Posted by: Brett at October 20, 2019 12:34 PM (W8x4j)

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