Monthly Archives: September 2010
Movie Quote of the Day – Gladiator, 2000 (dir. Ridley Scott)
Maximus: My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.
RIP Arthur Penn, Game Changer
Arthur Penn, director of the 1967 Bonnie & Clyde died today of congestive heart failure, a day after his 88th birthday. Penn was nominated for Best Director at the Academy Awards three times in the sixties: The Miracle Worker (1962), Bonnie & Clyde (1967) and Alice’s Restaurant (1969).
Of those three films, I have only seen Bonnie & Clyde, but I will always consider that film a game changer. I wrote about how 1967 was the year cinema changed forever a few months ago and it was Penn’s film about Depression-era bankrobbers Bonnie and Clyde – played by Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty. I saw an interview with Arthur Penn on TCM a few weeks ago where he discussed what he was trying to do with the film and why he chose to film it in color. He was an eloquent man and a director with a clear vision and point of view. He will be sadly missed.
Movie Quote of the Day – Reservoir Dogs, 1992 (dir. Quentin Tarantino)
Mr. Pink: Fuck you, White! I didn’t create the situation, I’m just dealin’ with it! You’re acting like a first year fucking theif – I’m acting like a professional! If they get him, they can get you. They get you, they get closer to me, and that can’t happen! And you, motherfucker, are lookin’ at me like it’s MY fault. I didn’t tell him my name. I didn’t tell him where I was from. I didn’t tell him what I knew better than NOT to tell him! Fuck, fifteen minutes ago you almost told me your name! You, buddy, are stuck in a situation YOU created. So, if you wanna throw bad looks somewhere, throw ’em at a mirror!
Auteur of the Week: David Fincher
David Fincher is one of my favorite directors. He is so insanely meticulous with his films. I think he’s created several of the most memorable films of the last twenty years. His latest film, The Social Network, looks to be nothing short of fabulous and I can’t wait to see it this weekend.
French Poster For “Red”
I am SO in love with this poster. It’s kind of cheeky, which from the trailer, so it seems is the film.
Red hits theaters October 15th.
RIP Sally Menke
Sally Menke was an integral player in the making of Quentin Taratino’s career. The two worked very close together to create the fast-paced, edgy feel of his films. Sadly, she passed away yesterday while out hiking, she was 56 years old.
She has quite a diverse filmography aside from her work with Tarantino:
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
- The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe (1991)
- Reservoir Dogs (1992)
- Pulp Fiction (1994) [ Nominated – Academy Award for Best Film Editing, Nominated – American Cinema Editors Eddie Award – “Best Edited Feature Film”, Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Editing ]
- Four Rooms, Segment: “The Man from Hollywood” (1995)
- Mulholland Falls (1996)
- Nightwatch (1997)
- Jackie Brown (1997)
- All the Pretty Horses (2000)
- Daddy and Them (2000)
- Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003) [ Won- Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Editing, Won – San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Editing, Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Editing, Nominated – Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Editing ],
- Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004) [ Nominated – American Cinema Editors Eddie Award – “Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic)”, Nominated – Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Editing]
- Grindhouse, Segment: “Death Proof” (2007)
- Inglourious Basterds (2009) [ Nominated – Academy Award for Best Film Editing, Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Editing, Nominated – Broadcast Film Critics Association Award Best Editing, Nominated – Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Editing]
- Peacock (2010)
I’ve seen about eight of those films. One of the things I look at in a film is the editing and I think Menke was one of the greatest editors working in Hollywood today. She will be sadly missed.
Trailer For The Coen Brothers’ Remake of “True Grit”
I recently saw the original film, for which John Wayne won his only acting Oscar, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m usually pretty wary of Hollywood remakes, but I almost universally love Coen brothers films, so I’m hopeful for this. Also, I have lots of love for Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin and Roger Deakins’ cinematography looks to be as lush as ever.
You can watch the trailer here on iTunes. The film is due in theaters on Decemeber 25th.
Oscar Vault Monday – La Grande Illusion, 1937 (dir. Jean Renoir)
I first saw this in college for a class called “Coffee and Cigarettes: The Literature of Anxiety and Boredom” (yes, that’s really the official title of that class). I think we watched it to examine the situation the officers in the film find themselves in: a prisoner of war camp. They’re all educated men, all men who are doers, and suddenly they can’t do anything. At least I think that’s why we watched, I don’t recall much discussion after watching the film. Whatever the reason was, I’m glad we watched it; it’s a fabulous film, filled with amazing performances. It’s also one of the very first anti-war war films, a genre I tend to really love. It was the first foreign language film to be nominated for Best Picture and one of only eight to do so: La Grande Illusion (French, 1938); Z (French, 1969); The Emigrants (Swedish, 1972); Cries and Whispers (Swedish, 1973); Il Postino (Italian/Spanish, 1995); Life Is Beautiful (Italian, 1998); Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Mandarin Chinese, 2000); and Letters from Iwo Jima (Japanese, 2006). It was up against nine films the year it was nominated: Alexander’s Ragtime Band, Boys Town, Four Daughters, Jezebel, Pygmalion, Test Pilot, The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Citadel and winner You Can’t Take It with You.
Movie Quote of the Day – The Bridges of Madison County, 1995 (dir. Clint Eastwood)
Robert: I’ll only say this once. I’ve never said it before. This kind of certainty only comes but once in a lifetime.
the diary of a film history fanatic 