davidh777

Watching Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and it looks quite good on upscaled DVD (the two-disc remaster from a few years ago; menus looked like crap, which had me concerned). Would love to see on Blu, of course, but I don't believe The Music Man and others did much in sales.

gp1086

That's nice how they released the extended editions for you hardcore fans. The copy of TFOTR I watched was 178 minutes in total and it appears the extended is 208 minutes. That's a lot of extra footage! Seems to be the same for both the sequels as well.

As a huge Harry Potter fan, I wish they did this for us. Heck, we don't even get most of the bonus scenes on the blu rays as special features.

gp1086

Watched True Grit (2010) - not too bad. Not sure how Hailee Steinfeld's character was classified as a supporting actress, but she did a damn nice job with the role.

BobO'Link

Yes, all 3 films have copious amounts of extra footage! The extra footage added to all 3 films (over 2 hours total) is essential, IMHO. For example: on TFOTR some of that footage gives you the history of the ring and partially shows how Bilbo got it from Smeagol. If you've not read the books, that extra little bit really helps you understand the actions of certain characters later in the films. Occasionally I block out a day and watch all 3 extended versions back-to-back. I've only been able to do this uninterrupted once since purchasing ROTK.

gp1086

Wow! That's a lot of watching in one day.

On a similar note, I don't know how some of you all watch so many titles in one day - especially for this particular challenge. By the nature of most films that qualify, the movies I watch are generally 2+ hours and quite emotionally engaging. Tough for me to watch back-to-back as if I were watching lots of comedies, cheesy horror films, or reality TV shows. It may make a difference that I'm only doing first-watches. I'm usually one film a day, sometimes two. To each their own, though, I guess.

I've loved this challenge and how it has introduced me to classics I've never seen. But I'm also kind of looking forward to watching some completely non-Oscar, non-engaging new comedy titles from my Netflix queue like Adventureland and Bachelor Party, once the challenge is complete.

davidh777

I've always wanted to have an extended-trilogy marathon but never found the time

Indy24LA

Just watched The Conversation for the first time. Slow burning film, but nice back story for Hackman's character in Enemy of the State, could almost be a prequel.

Mao

Focusing on as many Blus in my collection as I can get to this year.

Picked up "To Kill A Mockingbird" as a blind buy a couple weeks ago (had the coupon, so I figured, "Why not?"). Can't believe after all these years, I hadn't seen it.

I may get flamed for this, and maybe I was tired....but am I the only one who doesn't get the hype about this movie?

First, it's about the kids and the neighborhood, then it's about the trial, then it's back to the weird neighbor. Sad to say, but I just didn't get it? Is it just me? Do I need to watch it again?

Travis McClain

It's been about twenty years since I last saw it, but it has stayed with me all this time. I think this is a case where it's important to know the context for the film in order to fully appreciate it. The story itself is a powerful statement against not just racism in general, but the Jim Crow laws that codified racism in the South.

Your mini bio says you're in Denver, and I have no way of knowing what (if any) familiarity you may have with Southern culture, but To Kill a Mockingbird really did depict a very important aspect that I don't think was ever on display so honestly in film: The enormous social stigma placed on white "race traitors" who dared to stand up for African-Americans. It's a strain that goes home with Atticus Finch and permeates every aspect of his life.

Remember, too, that the novel was published 11 July 1960 and the film opened 25 December 1962. That's pretty fast turnaround on an adaptation! The reason is that Harper Lee's story made a tremendous impact on culture, using art to comment on--and ultimately, affect--society. It was a powerful statement in the buildup for the civil rights movement of the 1960s; it was a declaration that fair-minded whites were growing more vocal and would no longer stand idly by as their fellow man was legally oppressed.

We're accustomed to discussing the significance of Star Wars for its place in the evolution of special effects and how it forever changed the standards for how movies should look. To Kill a Mockingbird cast a shadow not across movie aesthetics, but the tumultuous arena of race relations.

Out of this context, it may be easy to see it as just another somewhat disjointed, well-meaning but not-quite-there movie. There have been episodes of Law & Order grittier than To Kill a Mockingbird. But that's not the point, or why it is still celebrated today. It was a daring story unflinchingly dramatized in the most powerful medium of our era.

mrcellophane

I watched Seven Brides for Seven Brothers yesterday as well! Though I am a huge fan of musicals, I had never actually seen it. I do remember that TCM used it to show the terribleness of pan and scan. The cropping destroyed the intricate dance scenes. Which is sad because the choreography is really the standout feature - much more than the songs. I was interested in all the brothers (I only knew Howard Keel and Russ Tamblyn) so I looked them all up and found most were very accomplished dancers.

Agree about blu; it would be great!

Mao

MinLShaw,
Thanks for helping me out. I guess I should compare it to a "Do The Right Thing" for my generation. I guess I went into it the wrong way...

Travis McClain

I got distracted with my remarks about To Kill a Mockingbird that I forgot to comment on my own latest viewing!

I have now finally seen Mulholland Drive. I had to rent it via Vudu using some credit I had there for a Blu-ray purchase of some kind. That went surprisingly well. I wouldn't pay $2.99 to rent something often since I'm paying $7.99 a month for Netflix, but since I wanted to see this, couldn't find it elsewhere and had the credit, why not?

Anyway, I found Naomi Watts and Laura Elena Harring captivating to watch, on par with Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullmann in Persona and Elena Anaya and Natasha Yarovenko in Habitación en Roma [Room in Rome]. When the film was about the two of them, I was completely engrossed in it. The rest of the movie, though, just fell rather flat for me. Maybe it's because I had seen Memento for the first time a couple of weeks ago so maybe I was just kind of jaded toward the mystery unraveling aspects. I dunno. I just felt like it thought it was cleverer than it was, flirting with self-importance. I had a sense that some things were thrown into the movie for the sole purpose of confusing the viewer rather than contributing to the actual narrative.

I read on ICheckMovies.com a comment that insists it's a very polarizing movie. I'm sure it is for many people, but I find my own reaction more mixed. On the whole, I liked it. The inept assassin cracked me up, as did Billy Ray Cyrus. But I just can't get entirely behind a movie that wants to jerk me around just for the sake of doing so.

Also, I found it curious that the lone nomination was for Lynch as director. I wonder how he felt about that, since he not only wrote the movie, but personally oversaw the sound design and editing. I can picture him reviewing the list of nominees that year: "No Best Picture, damn! No Original Screenplay? Gah! None of my actresses? NOT EVEN THE SOUND CATEGORIES? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!"

Mulholland Drive [2001 Awards]
(N) Directing - David Lynch

Ash Ketchum

It also helps if you've read the book by Harper Lee first. That was required reading in one of my adolescent grades and it was quite a powerful book. I've only seen the movie on television (early '70s) and, to be honest, I don't recall what my reaction was. But I need to see the movie again, esp. if I can do so on the big screen someday.

shadokitty

We had to read the book for To Kill a Mockingbird in Junior High first, and then we watched the movie right after reading the book. I remember it was quite a powerful book, and though the movie was powerful, reading the book helps, as the movie cuts a lot out.

Indy24LA

It's my favorite book and Gregory Peck is one of my favorite actors, so it was pretty much a slam dunk for me to love the movie (which I do).

davidh777

It's kind of interesting that this two-disc edition has an alternate shoot in 1.77 that is not a pan-and-scan but an actual reshoot by the director. The sound and picture are not as good, though, and I agree that you really need the space to fit all the characters. (I believe this two-disc edition is also good because previous DVDs were non-anamorphic.)

I remember watching It's Always Fair Weather back in the VHS days, and when Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Michael Kidd were dancing side by side, it'd be two guys and one arm (probably Kidd's ). (On topic, of course, because of Kidd's choreography in 7Bf7B.)

I'm shocked that you like musicals with a name of mrcellophane

davidh777

Knocked another big one off my unwatched list: The French Connection!

Though I'm having some second thoughts about watching action-crime Oscar winners when I can get credit for them next month. I have a lot still on my list.

Anyway, all I knew about this one was the name "Popeye Doyle," car chase, guy on the stairs getting shot in the back. Have to say that

I started rewatching with the Friedkin commentary and might watch the rest of it since Friedkin is usually pretty interesting.

Trevor

Thanks for all those links! I love shorts, and haven't had a day bouncing from short to short for about a year I think. Hopefully work is slow tomorrow.
You really should try to watch the whole trilogy, but the third is a bit overrated imho. Still great, but I prefer the first two. The third just got all the awards by default/association/last chance to reward the filmmakers.
You're way too young to even think about thinking that. I didn't find my true love and become a (step)father until 45.
Amen!
Interesting idea, I might try to make a double feature next month.

Sondheim

It's been a while since a film devastated me as much as The Bridge, which was nominated for Best Foreign Film in 1959. Allegedly based on a true story, it tells of seven 16-year old German boys drafted into the German army in the very last days of World War 2. After only a day of training it is found out that the Americans will be rolling in at any minute, so the entire camp is mobilized to the front, and it is only through the intervention of a considerate commanding officer that the ill-prepared boys are kept from going with the rest of the men to their almost certain deaths. Since the boys are quite anxious to serve their country in some way, they are ordered to stand guard over the bridge in their hometown - not knowing that the bridge is strategically useless (and therefore presumably not a target for the Allies) and that the Germans are already planning to blow it up anyway. Things quickly spiral out of control, with predictable results.

It's hard to watch - the first half (at least) of the film is spent getting to know the boys and their family situations. You quickly see that the boys are enthusiastic to serve their country, and are unnecessarily daring. But in spite of all their shows of bravery, the fact of the matter is that they are still children, and they are still easily frightened. An added level of sadness and irony is added by the fact that it is the last days of the war, and most of the adults (including the military leaders) seem to be aware of the fact that the Germans are fighting a lost cause.

While the film does get you to empathize with the Germans, it does make it very clear that the boys' unthinking zealotry is the problem.

The film is a bit clunky, and some of the acting from the young ones leaves a bit to be desired (though it turns out that most of them have gone on to successful adult careers as German actors.) You also pretty much know where the story is going from the start (the description on the back of the DVD, in fact, makes it pretty clear where the film is headed) - though that doesn't diminish the impact of the final thirty minutes of the film. It's one of the toughest watches I've had in a long time.

gp1086

Watched Million Dollar Baby tonight and I didn't like it...I freakin' LOVED this movie. This is one of those rare occasions where my eyes were literally glued to the screen from start to finish, and I was completely enamored with the story. Swank is simply brilliant in her performance - Freeman and Eastwood also deliver some of the best performances I've seen from them (as director as well for Clint). I could go on and on, but I was floored by how much I enjoyed this. Easily my favorite of the challenge thus far.

davidh777

I'd like to see MDB again but it's a tough watch

gp1086

Indeed

Ash Ketchum

There was quite a bit of controversy over MILLION DOLLAR BABY's ending when it came out.

davidh777

Spoilers, Ash

Ash Ketchum

I fixed it. Thanks.