Out of the Past

I'm thinking of trying a new commenting system on my blog, called Disqus, that allows you to actually reply to other people and get notified if your comment is responded to. I hate how the comments on Blogger work, and I feel like it probably keeps some people from speaking up sometimes. I want to read more about it this weekend, but I'll let you know if I actually switch over.

So, today I watched Out of the Past, directed by Jacques Tourneur in 1947. When I started, it felt like I had seen it before, but I couldn't place the plot or anything. I finally, slowly, started to remember that I had watched this a while ago in a film noir class. How did I forget it? Once I recalled it, I remembered loving it. Watching it again, I felt the same way. I love Robert Mitchum. He's so weirdly attractive and so perfect for this role, for film noir. I think the story is fantastic, and is one of my favorite plots from any noir. Just an all-around great movie.

The Long Goodbye

Every time I go out to stores in the fall, I compulsively must by any pumpkin products that I find. This weekend I did some stockpiling of fall seasonal beers, and started excitedly buying pumpkin treats and Halloween decorations. I feel really stoked about fall this year - summer felt really short, but I can't explain how happy I am to start wearing hoodies, warm fuzzy shoes, and eating pumpkin everything. Who knows - I'm just really pleased that the weather has been so nice and fall-y.

Today I watched The Long Goodbye, directed by Robert Altman in 1973. It's an updated version of Raymond Chandler's novel, taking place in the '70s instead of the 1950s like most film noirs, I read that Altman wanted to give off the impression that Phillip Marlowe, the main character, had gone to sleep in 1950 and woke up in 1970. I was pretty skeptical at first, but I really loved this movie. The characters were great, and the story got a really unique and interesting update that worked really well for me.

Rififi

Power is finally back, but I'm hanging out at a B&N for a while just because. Sometimes I work better when there are less distractions, and my house is full of them. Everything is a mess in my room because I couldn't see where to put anything away for the last few days, so I know if I was at home, I'd be cleaning and screwing around, not focusing.

The other night, I hooked up the TV and Blu-ray player to the generator and watched Rififi, a French crime film, directed in 1955 by Jules Dassin. Because I used the TV upstairs, my parents either had to watch the foregin, black and white film, or go to bed - so they watched it with me. I think this is maybe the first time that anyone other than Anthony has sat and watched an older, foreign film with me, so that was sort of fun. It was a really great movie - we all loved the story and the style, and it reminded us of all of our favorite heist films. It had a much more noir style, though, than other heist movies. It was great because it wasn't just about the crime - it was also about the characters and the consequences.

Laura

I don't really feel like writing, because I'm tired from shopping all day. Poor me, being given gifts all day and bought nice things, stuffed from eating deep dish pizza and beer. My life is really hard, guys. (I kid, I kid!)

After I came home from my expedition, I watched Laura, directed by Otto Preminger in 1944. I was pretty happy to watch a film noir, and even happier that it had a young Vincent Price in it. I was excited on more levels than normal because Anthony and I are playing L.A. Noire (a noir video game!) together right now. How does one play a single-player game with two people? He does the driving and the street crime, and I investigate crime scenes and interrogate everyone. It's had me even more in the mood for noir than I usually am.  I really liked the movie. It had all the great little plot twists that somehow worked really well. The acting is really great as well, and I had a lot of fun watching it.

The Big Heat

I think it's clear at this point that I pretty much have a huge soft spot for film noir. Today's movie is no exception. I watched The Big Heat, directed by Fritz Lang in 1953. It has a fantastically dark plot, and great acting. I was really impressed with the whole thing - it was a great movie to watch and seemed to have some new ideas thrown in.

The plot is a bit convoluted, and I'd rather make a short post and save you the plot summary. Basically, the main character of the film, Bannion, is a good cop in a town full of bad people. He is so driven in his pursuits, however, that he doesn't seem to notice how his actions affect others. He rushes headlong into all situations, and seems clueless about what his actions mean for other people. He endangers people around him, and doesn't seem to realize that. Even after his wife dies because of him, he continues on his path, not seeming to link her death with is doings.

The Third Man

What an interesting little movie! Tonight I watched The Third Man, directed by Carol Reed in 1949. Orson Welles is in it for a few minutes, but I so enjoyed him, it felt like it was much longer. The movie is about Holly Martins, an American author who writes pulp novels. He is invited to Vienna to see his friend Harry Lime, but when he arrives, Lime has just been killed. Holly becomes suspicious after talking with Lime's friends, and he feels like something might be afoot. He tries to find answers, with the vague help of Lime's lover, Anna.

Sweet Smell of Success

So tired - lots of bad insomnia lately. I'm a little out of it, so this post will probably be pretty short, since I need to get to bed and try to relax. It's so hard for me think straight after a few nights with only an hour or two of sleep. :/

Tonight I watched the movie Sweet Smell of Success, directed by Alexander Mackendrick in 1957. The movie is about J.J., a Broadway columnist for a newspaper, and Sidney Falco, a struggling press agent. J.J. convinces him to break up an affair that he disapproves of, one between J.J.'s sister and a musician. The strange relationships that build this film are really fascinating to watch, be it the odd one between J.J. and Falco, or J.J. and his sister.

Sunset Boulevard

I never had any idea that Sunset Boulevard would be such a creepy, wonderful film. I imagined it had something to do with Hollywood, but that was all I really knew. The film was amazing, directed by the always-talented Billy Wilder in 1950. It's eerie and haunting, but still relatable and almost comedic. I personally really bought into the script - I was pretty spooked by the character of Norma, and the relationship that she had with Joe. The other characters seemed to believe in it, and I found that I did as well. The idea of someone being mentally destroyed in Hollywood is pretty believable as well. I mean, we see lesser examples of this happen every day, so it was easy to accept how insane Norma becomes.

The Maltese Falcon

The first pulp fiction I ever read was The Maltese Falcon, and I watched the move shortly thereafter. The film version was directed by John Huston in 1941. I'm glad I read the book first, since there were quite a few important things that were left out of the movie due to censorship - but I'm always interested in issues like that. To be honest, this is one of the best film noirs to watch if you want to get an understanding of what a film noir should look like, feel like, sound like. It has great characters that are awesome examples of archetypes in film noirs. The story is there - it just isn't as important as the gritty, dark feel of the film.

Double Indemnity

Double Indemnity, written and directed in 1944 by Billy Wilder, is an early and classic noir film. Like all noir films, I saw it first in a class. Our class was an hour and a half long - the movie is almost two. My professor fast-forwarded through the parts he thought we ok to cull, explaining them to us as he did it. We also had to read the book, so I feel like I didn't ever really miss that much. Somehow, this is true. Watching it again, I felt like I had seen it really recently. I really like this movie, though, so I was happy to watch it again.

Detour

I first watched Detour in a film noir class that I took. I doubted that it could be any good when the professor popped in a ratty VHS tape and told us it was about an hour long. How good could a movie that is 68 minutes long be? Pretty good, actually. Later, on vacation in Buena Vista, Colorado, I saw this in a box set at Alco. Alco is some sort of horrible discount store, like a really crappy K-Mart. Everything inside is dusty and off-brand, shelves half-collapsed everywhere. It was the only general store we could find in the town, and we needed some blank DVDs and hangers, which they had. We browsed the strange selection of movies, and there it was - Detour, boxed with three other noir films I never heard of. It was about $4 for the set, so I begged Anthony to buy it for me because I promised him that Detour was beyond worth it. Like me, he was doubtful. Only $4? Finally, months later, I was able to sit down with him and watch it. I think he agrees with me now :)