Monthly Archives: May 2013
Movie Quote of the Day – Cloud Atlas, 2012 (dir. Tom Tykwer, Lilly Wachowski and Lana Wachowski)
Robert Frobisher: Sixsmith. I climb the steps of the Scot monument every morning and all becomes clear. Wish I could make you see this brightness. Don’t worry, all is well. All is so perfectly, damnably well. I understand now that boundaries between noise and sound are conventions. All boundaries are conventions, waiting to be transcended. One may transcend any convention if only one can first conceive of doing so. Moments like this, I can feel your heart beating as clearly as I feel my own, and I know that separation is an illusion. My life extends far beyond the limitations of me.
Movie Quote of the Day – Valley of the Dolls, 1967 (dir. Mark Robson)
Lyon Burke: Did you know you are the most beautiful girl that ever left lipstick in my office?
Anne Welles: You like women, don’t you?
Lyon Burke: I like career girls. We’re compatible.
Anne Welles: It’s said they don’t make good wives.
Lyon Burke: I’m not looking for a wife. Some men just don’t pull well in double harness.
Anne Welles: You’re fortunate. You know yourself. I don’t know who I am or what I want. I only know I have to find out.
From The Warner Archive: The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, 1962 (dir. Tony Richardson)
I love the British New Wave. I really, really do. One of the first films from the era/style that I saw was Tony Richardson’s film The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner from 1962. I saw it on TCM as part of group of films hand-picked by guest programmer Benjamin McKenzie (some day, I’m gonna track him down and talk kitchen sink dramas with him!) and I was blown away by how great it was. Like many of the films in the wave, it’s based on a short story by Alan Sillitoe. Clearly, I need to get to reading his stuff.
Mel Brooks: Make A Noise
Mel Brooks is having quite a year. Last month his film The Twelve Chairs screened at the TCM Classic Film Festival, it was announced last week that Martin Scorsese will present him with the American Film Institute’s 41st Life Achievement Award in Hollywood on June 6 (the ceremony will air on TNT Saturday, June 15, at 9 p.m. and as part of an all-night tribute to Brooks on TCM Sunday, July 24, at 8 p.m) and last night a new documentary on the filmmaker entitled Mel Brooks: Make a Noise premiered on PBS as part of their American Masters series. I was fortunate enough to get a sneak peek at the DVD release of the documentary, which is available today form Shout! Factory.
Movie Quote of the Day – Here Comes Mr. Jordan, 1941 (dir. Alexander Hall)
Messenger 7013: I have an idea, Mr. Jordan, couldn’t we have him reborn?
Joe Pendleton: Nothing doing; I’m not gonna go through *that* again!
Oscar Vault Monday – Tootsie, 1982 (dir. Sydney Pollack)
I’m not sure when I first saw this film, but I think it was probably on television some time in the 90s. I didn’t do a good rewatch of the film until my first semester of film grad school. One of my instructors used it a lot in his teaching screenplay form (it really is a great model), so on the last day we watched the entire film. Having just rewatched it again, I can’t help but think it really is a perfect film. It’s not the most realistic film (far from it); but it is storytelling at its finest. Tootsie was nominated for ten Academy Awards, winning one: Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Original Song, Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress Teri Garr, Best Supporting Actress Jessica Lange (won), Best Actor Dustin Hoffman, Best Director and Best Picture. The other film nominated for Best Picture that year were: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Missing, The Verdict and winner Gandhi.
Movie Quote of the Day – The Philadelphia Story, 1940 (dir. George Cukor)
Macaulay Connor: C.K. Dexter Haven! Oh, C.K. Dexter Haven!
C. K. Dexter Haven: What’s up?
Macaulay Connor: You are.
Movie Quote of the Day – Julie & Julia, 2009 (dir. Nora Ephron)
Paul Child: What is it you really like to do?
Julia Child: Eat!
From The Warner Archive: The Courtship of Eddie’s Father, 1963 (dir. Vincente Minnelli)
As many of you know, I really love Glenn Ford. Like, really love. I am so excited about all the Glenn Ford media hitting the home video market in the last few months. Enter The Courtship of Eddie’s Father from the Warner Archive Collection. This was such a great film; I can’t believe I had never seen it before.
Movie Quote of the Day – Mr. Deeds Goes To Town, 1936 (dir. Frank Capra)
Longfellow Deeds: People around here are funny. They work so hard at living they forget how to live.
the diary of a film history fanatic 