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 Director: John Huston Progress: 18/37 Just watched: Red Badge of Courage Next up: Let There Be Light (The only documentary he is credited as directing) I just found this thread and, since I was already in the process of watching all of his films, I chose John Huston. He has influenced me as a writer and filmmaker more than any other artist. I am also reading his autobiography, I am jealous of his life. In his autobiography he says, "I fail to see any continuity in my work from picture to picture - what's remarkable is how different the pictures are, from one to another." And I think that is why I love his work so much. I don't really subscribe to the auteur theory or like filmmakers considered auteurs. Huston's work, while never perfect, is this ever modulating and evolving experiment. You find similar themes and character aspects between the films; he remains ever curious rather than trying to perfect his "signature". You see his fingerprints is much more subtle ways. Of the 18 I have seen - Must See: The Dead, Prizzi's Honor, Wise Blood, The Man Who Would Be King, Fat City, Moulin Rouge, The Treasure of Sierra Madre, The Maltese Falcon See: The Life & Times of Judge Roy Bean, The Misfits, The African Queen, The Asphalt Jungle, Key Largo, The Red Badge of Courage Don't Have To See: Annie, Victory, Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison, Moby Dick I just watched Red Badge of Courage and I already posted my thoughts about it in the "Rate the Latest Movie..." thread so I won't be redundant here. Seen:
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Oct 18, 2013 22:31
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Director: John Huston Progress: 19/37 Just watched: Let There Be Light Next up: Freud (a.k.a. Freud: The Secret Passion) Let There Be Light A documentary produced by the US Government, and immediately suppressed by the US Government, this is one of the first documentations of PTSD on soldiers returning home after WWII. This was a really hard film to watch at times because it shows what war can do to a person's mind. It drifts into the idea of hypnosis and other alternative treatments, making them look like miracles. A lot of people are saying that use this film as inspiration for The Master. There is a simplicity in this film that you don't see in current day documentaries or "reality" television - no fancy graphics or stunts. It mainly consists of interviews and treatment sessions with soldiers because that's all it needs. I can understand why the government suppressed the film but at the same it is a bit of propaganda making it look like these facilities fixed these guys completely. Walter Huston narrates this film beautifully. (9/10) Seen: Must See: The Dead, Prizzi's Honor, Wise Blood, The Man Who Would Be King, Fat City, Moulin Rouge, The Treasure of Sierra Madre, The Maltese Falcon, Let There Be Light See: The Life & Times of Judge Roy Bean, The Misfits, The African Queen, The Asphalt Jungle, Key Largo, The Red Badge of Courage Don't Have To See: Annie, Victory, Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison, Moby Dick Seen: York_M_Chan fucked around with this message at 15:39 on Jan 13, 2014 |
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Jan 13, 2014 15:32
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Director: John Huston Progress: 20/37 Just watched: Reflections in a Golden Eye Next up: Freud (a.k.a. Freud: The Secret Passion) Reflections in a Golden Eye I was supposed to watch Freud next but I happen to be in a Southern Gothic phase lately, so I happened upon Reflections in a Golden Eye. It is Brando and Elizabeth Taylor as a failing couple on a military base in the south. I am not a huge Brando fan but this performance is probably my favorite of his after On the Waterfront. Taylor is a little over the top for my tastes. This is probably the best shot of all of Huston's work. Robert Forster actually steals the movie as a voyeuristic private obsessed with Elizabeth Taylor's character, and the movie is worth seeing just for the cinematography and his performance alone. Rumor has it that Scorsese was heavily influenced by this film. EDIT: I would be interested if anyone here has seen this film. It felt like it was all about Brando struggling with his suppressed homosexuality. And that he shoots Forester at the end, not because he was in his house, but because Forester's character was in love with the wife and not him. I wasn't particularly pleased with the ending and some of the themes get confuddled. I told my friend this movie felt like Whose Afraid of Virgina Woolf? (which was shot the previous year) meets Equus. (7.5/10) Seen: Must See: The Dead, Prizzi's Honor, Wise Blood, The Man Who Would Be King, Fat City, Moulin Rouge, The Treasure of Sierra Madre, The Maltese Falcon, Let There Be Light, Reflections in a Golden Eye See: The Life & Times of Judge Roy Bean, The Misfits, The African Queen, The Asphalt Jungle, Key Largo, The Red Badge of Courage Don't Have To See: Annie, Victory, Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison, Moby Dick Seen: [/quote] York_M_Chan fucked around with this message at 18:57 on Jun 4, 2014 |
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Jun 4, 2014 18:54
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Director: John Huston Progress: 21/37 Just watched: Night of the Iguana Next up: Freud (a.k.a. Freud: The Secret Passion) Night of the Iguana I just can't seem to get around to watching Freud, but I found Night of the Iguana at the library. (Yes, I still check out movies from the library) This film never seems to find stable footing in plot or theme, just when I think it is telling one story it seems to shift focus. This is probably my favorite Richard Burton and Ava Gardner performances, however. Sue Lyon basically does what Sue Lyon does in every movie. Grayson Hall does a good job too, although Cyril Delevanti steals the movie as a dying poet. So, great performances but I was not a big fan of the plot or theme. It started as a great story about a priest who lost his faith and just kind of pitters out into a love story. It is worth seeing just for the opening scene. Must See: The Dead, Prizzi's Honor, Wise Blood, The Man Who Would Be King, Fat City, Moulin Rouge, The Treasure of Sierra Madre, The Maltese Falcon, Let There Be Light, Reflections in a Golden Eye See: The Life & Times of Judge Roy Bean, The Misfits, The African Queen, The Asphalt Jungle, Key Largo, The Red Badge of Courage, Night of the Iguana Don't Have To See: Annie, Victory, Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison, Moby Dick Seen:
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Jul 2, 2014 15:47
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FLEXBONER posted:Current Director: Akira Kurosawa I've really liked your take on his films. Although, I just read your review of One Wonderful Sunday and I disagree about the breaking of the 4th wall. I really liked it. They are in an empty amphitheater and she turns to the empty audience to yell her plea. And really, no response is given. It gave me chills.
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Jul 30, 2014 19:11
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Director: John Huston Progress: 23/37 Just watched: Freud (a.k.a. Freud: The Secret Passion) and Beat The Devil Next up: The MacKintosh Man I have been gone from the forums for a bit and I have seen two Huston's recently. Freud This is a really conflicting movie. On one hand you have a really interesting character piece of Freud discovering his theories and actually hating himself for what he discovers. No matter your beliefs in psychology, Montgomery Clift (who only a year earlier was amazing in Huston's The Misfits) gives a subtle yet stellar performance as Freud. The photography is concise and well planned and there are some really well executed surreal dram sequences obviously inspired by Fellini and Bergman. On the other hand, the movie is about 30 minutes too long and some scenes read like a Psychology 101 textbook. While the means to the end is interesting, the actual statement of the thesis is unnecessary and dry. (6.5/10) Beat The Devil Considered, in some circles, to an awful script by Truman Capote and awful Direction by John Huston and awful acting from Bogart... Beat the Devil isn't as bad as people say, but it isn't a cinematic masterpiece by any means. The main trouble with this film is the plot holes and half motives. Bogart does phone it in a bit but Jennifer Jones actually steals this movie. Both married couples seem to swap partners and no one seems to care all that much all under the umbrella of African Uranium. Peter Lorre gives, for me, his best performance aside from M. This whole story suffers under the weight of not knowing if it is a romantic comedy or thrilling heist. If you are a Bogart or Loree fan, I would tell you to see it, otherwise you can skip it. It seems like, from reading trivia about the film, everyone had their eyes on other projects and just were not all that into it. (5.5/10) Must See: The Dead, Prizzi's Honor, Wise Blood, The Man Who Would Be King, Fat City, Moulin Rouge, The Treasure of Sierra Madre, The Maltese Falcon, Let There Be Light, Reflections in a Golden Eye See: The Life & Times of Judge Roy Bean, The Misfits, The African Queen, The Asphalt Jungle, Key Largo, The Red Badge of Courage, Night of the Iguana, Freud Don't Have To See: Annie, Victory, Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison, Moby Dick, Beat the Devil Seen: [/quote]
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Oct 17, 2014 20:06
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Egbert Souse posted:Please add The Battle of San Pietro to your list. It's another of Huston's war documentaries and fantastic. Yeah, it's a hard one to find but I added it to the list. Thanks. Director: John Huston Progress: 24/38 Just watched: The MacKintosh Man Next up: The Bible The MacKintosh Man This is a atypical espionage movie that John Huston apologizes for in his biography. Paul Newman is a British, I think, spy. There are two really things I did really like about this film - the first is the set-up - keeping you in the dark for the first act. Once you figure out what is going on, however, the whole film is really predictable. The other is the female roles in the film. Maybe I read too much into it, but it seemed like a comment on the awful misogyny of James Bond films. They set all the female up to be objects only to have them be the most violent characters in the film. Everyone stated that Huston wasn't really "into" this film - showed up late and didn't really seem excited by the whole process. You can feel that throughout the film, which is a shame because it could have been a really neat twist on spy films. EDIT: I was able to find The Battle of San Pietro and, at the same time, read about the making of the film in John Huston's Autobiography. (Which I highly recommend, if even just for the section about his fist fight with Errol Flynn). The film is really intense. They shot a documentary about The Battle of San Pietro at San Pietro just after the battle happened. The footage of the battle is reenacted but the dead bodies and bombings are real. Obviously the War Department banned the film, stating that it was anti-war. Huston replied, "If I ever made a picture that was pro-war, I hoped someone would take me out and shoot me." Huston wanted to have a cut of the film where the interviews with the soldiers talking about what they were going to do after the war played over images of their dead bodies. The actual film about the strategy for the battle kinda sounds like someone reciting moves in Chess with a map and pointer reciting the activity - like a power-point presentation. That isn't all that good but the realism of the war footage is like something I have never seen. You can feel the cameraman's fear in the piece; at times literally dropping the camera. So for a documentation of the horrors of war, this is a great piece, but as a narrative short film it struggles. Must See: The Dead, Prizzi's Honor, Wise Blood, The Man Who Would Be King, Fat City, Moulin Rouge, The Treasure of Sierra Madre, The Maltese Falcon, Let There Be Light, Reflections in a Golden Eye See: The Life & Times of Judge Roy Bean, The Misfits, The African Queen, The Asphalt Jungle, Key Largo, The Red Badge of Courage, Night of the Iguana, Freud, The Battle of San Pietro Don't Have To See: Annie, Victory, Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison, Moby Dick, Beat the Devil, The MacKintosh Man Seen: York_M_Chan fucked around with this message at 15:55 on Aug 13, 2015 |
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Jul 29, 2015 15:14
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Egbert Souse posted:Please add The Battle of San Pietro to your list. It's another of Huston's war documentaries and fantastic. Yeah, it's a hard one to find but I added it to the list. Thanks. Director: John Huston Progress: 25/38 Just watched: The Bible: In The Beginning... Next up: In This Our Life The Bible: In The Beginning... A pretty big flop on its release and kind of understandable why. There is really nothing new here that hasn't been told a hundred times over. Considering Huston was an athiest, I am not sure what drew him to this project. Huston also took over after a nothing director was fired, so this project never really felt solid to begin with. Much like Lynch's Dune, this doesn't feel like a Huston movie it feels like a Dino De Laurentiis movie. George C. Scott is a good Abraham and seeing the joy in Huston's face as he plays Noah made the movie worth it. Must See: The Dead, Prizzi's Honor, Wise Blood, The Man Who Would Be King, Fat City, Moulin Rouge, The Treasure of Sierra Madre, The Maltese Falcon, Let There Be Light, Reflections in a Golden Eye See: The Life & Times of Judge Roy Bean, The Misfits, The African Queen, The Asphalt Jungle, Key Largo, The Red Badge of Courage, Night of the Iguana, Freud, The Battle of San Pietro Don't Have To See: Annie, Victory, Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison, Moby Dick, Beat the Devil, The MacKintosh Man, The Bible: In The Beginning... Seen:
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Aug 4, 2016 16:04
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Director: John Huston Progress: 25/38 Just watched: Under The Volcano Next up: In This Our Life Under The Volcano I got a free trial to FilmStruck (which I highly recommend) and saw that Under The Volcano was one of the films in the collection. I have never been a big Albert Finney fan but this performance was just amazing. I usually can't stand alcoholics in films, it just never seems to work - it either comes off too much or too little but he nailed it right on the head. Finney plays a retired British consul living in Mexico on the eve of WWII. He is basically intentionally drinking himself to death when his ex-wife shows back up. There are just some heartbreaking scenes in this film, one in particular where Finney's ex-wife and the man she cheated on him with try to get him to shower and shave. This is an uncomfortably intimate film about alcoholism, self-destruction, and forgiveness. Must See: The Dead, Prizzi's Honor, Wise Blood, The Man Who Would Be King, Fat City, Moulin Rouge, The Treasure of Sierra Madre, The Maltese Falcon, Let There Be Light, Reflections in a Golden Eye, Under The Volcano See: The Life & Times of Judge Roy Bean, The Misfits, The African Queen, The Asphalt Jungle, Key Largo, The Red Badge of Courage, Night of the Iguana, Freud, The Battle of San Pietro Don't Have To See: Annie, Victory, Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison, Moby Dick, Beat the Devil, The MacKintosh Man, The Bible: In The Beginning... Seen:
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Nov 16, 2016 22:39
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