The Seventh Annual Historical Appreciation Challenge Discussion - June 2016
#126
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Re: The Seventh Annual Historical Appreciation Challenge Discussion - June 2016
I watched The Last of the Mohicans today. I haven't read the book. I wanted to ask if the romance between Hawkeye and the Munro girl was part of the book or just a Hollywood addition.
#127
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Re: The Seventh Annual Historical Appreciation Challenge Discussion - June 2016
Thanks to Netflix, I discovered Forensic Files is considered a documentary series, so I've been watching episodes here and there on HLN. I first discovered the show during the first Action Adventure Crime Mystery Challenge, and any challenge it is eligible, I take the chance to watch some episodes.
#128
Re: The Seventh Annual Historical Appreciation Challenge Discussion - June 2016
Over the weekend, I got in two movies: The Cimarron Kid and Evita. The former is an Audie Murphy western and biopic of Bill Doolin. It's a pretty standard outlaw story with several impressive set pieces. There is a shootout on a railroad turntable that was fantastic to watch; I watched it again after the film ended.
#129
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: The Seventh Annual Historical Appreciation Challenge Discussion - June 2016
Watched Inglourious Basterds finally. But now it's 1:35am and I have a course at 8:00am. Couldn't stop this movie in the middle though. It was too engaging. Also, I know it's late, but even tired, I'm pretty sure I don't remember WWII ending this way... Could just be the late hour though...
#130
Re: The Seventh Annual Historical Appreciation Challenge Discussion - June 2016
Watched Inglourious Basterds finally. But now it's 1:35am and I have a course at 8:00am. Couldn't stop this movie in the middle though. It was too engaging. Also, I know it's late, but even tired, I'm pretty sure I don't remember WWII ending this way... Could just be the late hour though...
#131
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#132
Re: The Seventh Annual Historical Appreciation Challenge Discussion - June 2016
I've now seen 19 westerns so far, including an Audie Murphy western this morning (I started watching last night on Audie's birthday), THE CIMARRON KID, in which he played famous outlaw Bill Doolin. And yesterday morning, I watched ROUGH NIGHT IN JERICHO (1967) on Encore Western. It stars Dean Martin as the bad guy and George Peppard as the reluctant hero. It was quite good.
#133
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Re: The Seventh Annual Historical Appreciation Challenge Discussion - June 2016
I've now seen 19 westerns so far, including an Audie Murphy western this morning (I started watching last night on Audie's birthday), THE CIMARRON KID, in which he played famous outlaw Bill Doolin. And yesterday morning, I watched ROUGH NIGHT IN JERICHO (1967) on Encore Western. It stars Dean Martin as the bad guy and George Peppard as the reluctant hero. It was quite good.
To Hell and Back and 40 Guns to Apache Pass.
Hopefully I'll be able to get in Apache Rifles sometime soon.
#134
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Re: The Seventh Annual Historical Appreciation Challenge Discussion - June 2016
I've now seen 19 westerns so far, including an Audie Murphy western this morning (I started watching last night on Audie's birthday), THE CIMARRON KID, in which he played famous outlaw Bill Doolin. And yesterday morning, I watched ROUGH NIGHT IN JERICHO (1967) on Encore Western. It stars Dean Martin as the bad guy and George Peppard as the reluctant hero. It was quite good.
#135
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: The Seventh Annual Historical Appreciation Challenge Discussion - June 2016
Now I'm looking through the imdb pages of the cast of The Cimarron Kid. I thought Beverly Tyler looked familiar; I saw her recently in Voodoo Island which is a fun little film. Hugh O'Brian (who is very good as the dumb, devious Redd) was in so many things! I know him from watching episodes of The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp with my grandfather.
#136
Re: The Seventh Annual Historical Appreciation Challenge Discussion - June 2016
The O'Brian Wyatt Earp series is running every afternoon on Encore Western.
I liked CIMARRON KID quite a bit. In addition to a female Mexican character (Yvette Dugay) who's an equal participant in the action, there's a black character who's a member of the gang, Stacey, played by Frank Silvera, and he's a dignified character treated as an equal and with respect by the others. He has them all over to his home for dinner and we see his wife and three children. He doesn't participate in the robberies but he tends the horses and the wagons and the logistics for the capers. At one point, O'Brian balks at contributing to Stacy's share, but the others all insist.
I'm a huge fan of Audie Murphy and I think this is one of his best, along with KANSAS RAIDERS, THE KID FROM TEXAS, DUEL AT SILVER CREEK, RIDE A CROOKED TRAIL, POSSE FROM HELL and THE WILD AND THE INNOCENT, among others. I wrote the first IMDB review of CIMARRON KID back in 2001. (There are now 12 others.) In three of his first four westerns, he played famous outlaws: Billy the Kid, Jesse James and, in CIMARRON KID, Bill Doolin.
Murphy was a war hero who wound up in Hollywood through forces beyond his control. He was not a trained actor, but good directors like Budd Boetticher and Don Siegel knew how to get good performances out of him. And when the script played to his strengths, he responded in kind. In some of his later, lower-budgeted westerns, he just phones it in, working for the quick money. Gambling and drinking got the better of him and he died in a plane crash in 1971 after doing a cameo as Jesse James in Boetticher's last western, A TIME FOR DYING, which is not a very good film.
I finished watching THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1956) this afternoon and made it #45 on my list (see post #26 in the List Thread). I'd started watching it a couple of days ago, but it's nearly 4 hours and hard to do in one sitting. It was the first time I'd seen it uninterrupted by commercials and in its proper aspect ratio since last seeing it on the big screen in 1972. It was kind of funny to see Yvonne De Carlo in such a prestigious role (as Moses' wife) the same year she made RAW EDGE, a hard-bitten western with Rory Calhoun that I watched last week. TEN COMMANDMENTS was the 7th film from 1956 I've seen for this challenge. The two 1956 films I saw earlier this year would also have fit this challenge. What a great movie year: THE SEARCHERS, LUST FOR LIFE, JUBAL, ATTACK!, TEN COMMANDMENTS and, for the Sci-Fi challenge, FORBIDDEN PLANET and INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS.
I liked CIMARRON KID quite a bit. In addition to a female Mexican character (Yvette Dugay) who's an equal participant in the action, there's a black character who's a member of the gang, Stacey, played by Frank Silvera, and he's a dignified character treated as an equal and with respect by the others. He has them all over to his home for dinner and we see his wife and three children. He doesn't participate in the robberies but he tends the horses and the wagons and the logistics for the capers. At one point, O'Brian balks at contributing to Stacy's share, but the others all insist.
I'm a huge fan of Audie Murphy and I think this is one of his best, along with KANSAS RAIDERS, THE KID FROM TEXAS, DUEL AT SILVER CREEK, RIDE A CROOKED TRAIL, POSSE FROM HELL and THE WILD AND THE INNOCENT, among others. I wrote the first IMDB review of CIMARRON KID back in 2001. (There are now 12 others.) In three of his first four westerns, he played famous outlaws: Billy the Kid, Jesse James and, in CIMARRON KID, Bill Doolin.
Murphy was a war hero who wound up in Hollywood through forces beyond his control. He was not a trained actor, but good directors like Budd Boetticher and Don Siegel knew how to get good performances out of him. And when the script played to his strengths, he responded in kind. In some of his later, lower-budgeted westerns, he just phones it in, working for the quick money. Gambling and drinking got the better of him and he died in a plane crash in 1971 after doing a cameo as Jesse James in Boetticher's last western, A TIME FOR DYING, which is not a very good film.
I finished watching THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1956) this afternoon and made it #45 on my list (see post #26 in the List Thread). I'd started watching it a couple of days ago, but it's nearly 4 hours and hard to do in one sitting. It was the first time I'd seen it uninterrupted by commercials and in its proper aspect ratio since last seeing it on the big screen in 1972. It was kind of funny to see Yvonne De Carlo in such a prestigious role (as Moses' wife) the same year she made RAW EDGE, a hard-bitten western with Rory Calhoun that I watched last week. TEN COMMANDMENTS was the 7th film from 1956 I've seen for this challenge. The two 1956 films I saw earlier this year would also have fit this challenge. What a great movie year: THE SEARCHERS, LUST FOR LIFE, JUBAL, ATTACK!, TEN COMMANDMENTS and, for the Sci-Fi challenge, FORBIDDEN PLANET and INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS.
Last edited by Ash Ketchum; 06-21-16 at 05:40 PM.
#137
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: The Seventh Annual Historical Appreciation Challenge Discussion - June 2016
I've been taking advantage of this challenge to watch episodes of Ancient Aliens. I have Seasons 1-4 on DVD, and have the rest of the seasons available On Demand for an indefinite period of time on the History Channel On Roku. Just finished an interesting episode about the importance of Orion.
#138
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Re: The Seventh Annual Historical Appreciation Challenge Discussion - June 2016
In continuing watching Ancient Aliens, I came across an interesting episode on the History Channel On Roku from season 5 about ancient tombs. The general premise was why did tombs from all over the world share such similar characteristics.
#140
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#141
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Re: The Seventh Annual Historical Appreciation Challenge Discussion - June 2016
Just finished Hang' em High. It was great in 5.1 blu. Had to get in at least 1, hopefully more, Eastwood films before this thing is over.
#143
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Re: The Seventh Annual Historical Appreciation Challenge Discussion - June 2016
I'm doing a John Wayne marathon. It started off with a Western double feature:
The War Wagon (1967)
The Train Robbers (1973)
And that was followed by a WWII Pacific double feature:
Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)
The Fighting Seabees (1944)
The War Wagon (1967)
The Train Robbers (1973)
And that was followed by a WWII Pacific double feature:
Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)
The Fighting Seabees (1944)
#144
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: The Seventh Annual Historical Appreciation Challenge Discussion - June 2016
To get me primed for Shark Week, I just finished Shark Week Sharktacular 2016, on the Discovery Channel, which is the show that kicks off the official countdown to Shark Week 2016.
#145
Re: The Seventh Annual Historical Appreciation Challenge Discussion - June 2016
I've only done three Waynes so far for this challenge: BACK TO BATAAN, THE SEARCHERS, THE SONS OF KATIE ELDER.
#146
Re: The Seventh Annual Historical Appreciation Challenge Discussion - June 2016
That's 2 more than I've watched. I have a half dozen or so in the queue but just haven't made time for them yet... The only one for me so far has been Rio Bravo.
#147
Re: The Seventh Annual Historical Appreciation Challenge Discussion - June 2016
Speaking of John Wayne, I was lucky to catch yesterday's episode of "Wagon Train" on Encore Western. It was "The Colter Craven Story" and was directed by John Ford, mentor of the series' star, Ward Bond. It was filled with Ford's stock company (Carleton Young, Anna Lee, Hank Worden, Ken Curtis, John Carradine, et al) and in the Shiloh flashback scene in which Bond's character interacts with General U.S. Grant (Paul Birch), there's an appearance by General Sherman, seen only in silhouette and with one or two lines of dialogue, but it's unmistakably John Wayne, who's billed in the credits as "Michael Morris," a play on his real name.
What a treat.
What a treat.
#148
Moderator
Re: The Seventh Annual Historical Appreciation Challenge Discussion - June 2016
The John Wayne marathon continued with two WWII Navy movies:
Operation Pacific (1951)
They Were Expendable (1945)
And then a Western double feature:
The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
Big Jake (1971)
Operation Pacific (1951)
They Were Expendable (1945)
And then a Western double feature:
The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
Big Jake (1971)
#149
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: The Seventh Annual Historical Appreciation Challenge Discussion - June 2016
I just finished an interesting documentary on Amazon Prime about the Norse traders who came to Canada centuries before Columbus. If anyone has Prime and is interested in seeing it, it's called The Norse: An Arctic Mystery.
#150
Re: The Seventh Annual Historical Appreciation Challenge Discussion - June 2016
I discovered a DVD set I'm interested in is available for "Free" Prime streaming and watched a episode last night. It's Secrets of War (link to streaming version) narrated by Charlton Heston. It was interesting enough that I'll be watching a few more episodes and will likely purchase the discs (currently ~$13).
After that I found a few more documentaries that are leaving Prime in a few days so I added them to my queue and watched a couple:
Nazi Attack on America was a interesting look at the sinking of U-166 in the Gulf of Mexico during WWII. It promotes itself a bit deceptively with this blurb:
Long before 9/11, a far deadlier, little-known attack from the ocean depths struck our shores, lasting three-and-a-half years and claiming 5,000 lives.
Inside the Court of Henry VIII was a nicely produced condensation of his entire reign. There was no new-to-me information but what *was* put forward was well done, even though significant events were somewhat short due to it being a ~55 minute production. One point made that I'd never considered before was that *without* Henry VIII and his religious reforms the US would be quite a different place and likely *not* be descended from a English settlement.