Yearly Archives: 2011
Movie Quote of the Day – Dirty Dancing, 1987 (dir. Emile Ardolino)
Johnny Castle: Nobody puts Baby in a corner.
Movie Quote of the Day – Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles, 1994 (dir. Neil Jordan)
Louis: Vampires pretending to be humans, pretending to be vampires.
Claudia: How avant-garde.
RIP Sidney Lumet, Master of Cinema
I am the first to admit I have not seen as many Lumet films as I would like; I’ve only seen six of his films. But I loved all six of those films. I also recently finished reading his book Making Movies and realized there were so many of his films that I need to see. I would recommend that book to anyone who just likes watching movies and especially to anyone who is thinking of going into filmmaking. He was a passionate filmmaker and if you couldn’t tell that from his films, that book removes any doubt. So I’m going to talk about those films that I have seen, as well as a few I have but that were nominated for Academy Awards. Lumet himself was nominated for Best Director four times and Best Original Screenplay once. Sadly, he never won a competitive Academy Award, although he received an Honorary Oscar in 2005.
Movie Quote of the Day – 12 Angry Men, 1957 (dir. Sidney Lumet)
Juror #2: It’s hard to put into words. I just think he’s guilty. I thought it was obvious from the word, ‘Go’. Nobody proved otherwise.
Juror #8: Nobody has to prove otherwise. The burden of proof is on the prosecution. The defendant doesn’t even have to open his mouth. That’s in the Constitution.
Movie Quote of the Day – Frankenstein, 1931 (dir. James Whale)
Dr. Henry Frankenstein: It’s alive. It’s alive! It’s alive, it’s alive! It’s alive! Oh, in the name of God, now I know what it feels like to be God!
Movie Quote of the Day – The Land Before Time, 1988 (dir. Don Bluth)
Ducky: Petrie, do not feel sad. It is alright. Many things cannot fly. Rocks, trees, sticks, Spike…
A Cinematic Alphabet
This was going around all the blogs last week and I resisted doing it, mostly because I found it too difficult to pick just one title for some of the letters (for A alone I had at least ten viable choices!), but I finally got over my own neurosis and forced myself to choose. I think this list is a pretty accurate portrait of my taste in movies. A little bit classic, a little bit modern. A lot of romance, a little sci-fi.
Movie Quote of the Day – Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, 1958 (dir. Richard Brooks)
Margaret “Maggie” Pollitt: You know what I feel like? I feel all the time like a cat on a hot tin roof.
Brick Pollitt: Then jump off the roof, Maggie. Jump off it. Cats jump off roofs and land uninjured. Do it. Jump.
Margaret “Maggie” Pollitt: Jump where? Into what?
Brick Pollitt: Take a lover.
[beat]
Margaret “Maggie” Pollitt: I don’t deserve that.
Movie Quote of the Day – Manhattan, 1979 (dir. Woody Allen)
Isaac: Talent is luck. The important thing in life is courage.
Oscar Vault Monday – Jerry Maguire, 1996 (dir. Cameron Crowe)
I’ve been reticent to discuss 1996 because my all-time favorite film came out that year: The English Patient. In fact, it won Best Picture. So in my eyes, Oscar got it very right that year. That being said, there is a film that came out in 1996 and was nominated for Best Picture that I absolutely adore. I saw Jerry Maguire in theaters when I was ten and loved it and as soon as it came out on VHS (remember, this was nearly 15 years ago) I bought it and watched it over and over and over. I have seen this film so many times I have every line of dialogue and every little nuance of every performance memorized. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one: Best Editing, Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor Cuba Gooding, Jr. (won), Best Actor Tom Cruise and Best Picture. The other films nominated that year were: Fargo, Secrets and Lies, Shine and winner The English Patient.
the diary of a film history fanatic 