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| Earl |
 Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2006 8:43 pm |
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Joined: 09 Jun 2004
Posts: 2621
Location: Houston
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shannon wrote: Ian McKellen, who I'd pretty much watch in anything.
May I recommend Flushed Away? You won't get to actually watch McKellen because it's animated. But he is wonderful as the voice of the evil toad. Jean Reno also doesa good job as his French cousin, Le Frog. |
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| yambu |
| Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 2:24 am |
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Joined: 23 May 2004
Posts: 6441
Location: SF Bay Area
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| Finally catching Bagdad Cafe was my little tribute to the memory of Jack Palance. I've seen him in better things, but he's funny enough for his role as an eccentric artist living out his small existence in the Nevada desert. Enter Polyanna, in the guise of a frumpy German matron, a hellion of a cafe owner, her son the Bach virtuoso, a sheriff in pigtails, and other assorted ill-fitting characters, and you have a pleasantly offbeat story. A bonus is the voice of Jevetta Steele singing the gorgeous "Calling You." |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 3:47 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 9016
Location: Shanghai
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yambu wrote: Finally catching Bagdad Cafe was my little tribute to the memory of Jack Palance. I've seen him in better things, but he's funny enough for his role as an eccentric artist living out his small existence in the Nevada desert. Enter Polyanna, in the guise of a frumpy German matron, a hellion of a cafe owner, her son the Bach virtuoso, a sheriff in pigtails, and other assorted ill-fitting characters, and you have a pleasantly offbeat story. A bonus is the voice of Jevetta Steele singing the gorgeous "Calling You."
I do love that song. Previously I only knew Jai Uttal singing that.
A week before Palance died, I happened to watch The Big Knife (1955), a quasi-noir starring Palance opposite Ida Lupino. The movie gets a little bogged down at times, and it's fairly evident that it is a play being filmed. But Palance has an unusual presence and is interesting as a weak, alcoholic Hollywood star who has sold out his art for money and fame making crappy popular films. Rod Steiger is the villain -- both over-the-top and impressive at the same time -- as the ruthless studio head and big-shot producer portrayed as thug and crime lord. Even a young Shelley Winters drops by for a few scenes.
Really it's a pretty scathing indictment of the studio system, written by Clifford Odets who apparently didn't enjoy his stay in Hollywood. The main problem is that the drama gets rather heavy handed, and the music becomes overly intrusive. The acting and actors are what really save this film. I only wish that Lupino had a bigger role and a better developed character to play. But the interaction of Palance and Lupino was intriguing and kept me involved.
So to do a Palance tribute right, check out his starring role in The Big Knife. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 7:04 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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It's easy to semi-dismiss (as yambu did) Palance's work in Bagdad Cafe, since it's off the beaten track for him and not a "leading" role. But IMO it may be his best performance of them all. For me it confirms his status as one of the best film actors of the last 50 years.
The movie is also a good deal better than yam makes it sound. It's a minor classic, with a marvelous cabaret sequence toward the end. "Mojave" rhyming with "you savvy?" is a big favorite of mine.
And just how good are Marianne Sagebrecht and CCH Pounder in the two leading roles? Compare them with Jean Stapleton and Whoopi Goldberg in the misbegotten television sitcom based on the movie and you can get a decent perspective. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 7:39 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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Okay, here's my stupidest reason for avoiding a movie ever. My cousin got married in DC, in 1991. Anyway, my family up there is connected with some prominent people, and these people were at the wedding...and I ended up talking to this matron whose husband is high up in the Pentagon, four-star general or something. He was there, too.
She asked me what I did, and I was a theater major at the time, and she told me about her son, one of the writers on the movie Bagdad Cafe. which had just been turned into a sitcom. She asked me "Are you going to go to Iraq?" And I, of course, said no way. She said, "My son wouldn't during Vietnam either. He was a conscientious objector. You should have read his letter explaining why. So many references to Jesus, and Gandhi...I know because I typed it for him, he was so lazy he wouldn't do anything." She said this with quite a bit of pride.
I got the image of a pampered general's son with the big ideals and little energy, now set on a Hollywood career. To this day, I've never watched the movie. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 7:49 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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| Joe--Isn't that weird? You avoided the movie because the writer was presumably a scumbag. Two of my favorite people in the writing community were the head writers on that awful sitcom version. Which all goes to prove that you don't have to be a nice guy to come up with something good...or vice versa. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 8:07 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Houston
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Oh, I know. It was the whole pomposity of the thing, and it made an emotional impact on me. It's silly. I've gone on record many times saying I respect Woody Allen as an artist and still love his (good) movies, whether he's a child molester or not. What were this guy's failings in comparison? It was just a dumb, personal thing. And probably as wrapped in envy for someone with a rich, powerful family behind him as it was about anything else.
I should see the movie. |
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| lshap |
| Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 9:29 am |
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| Joe - Nobody will ever criticize you for a lack of self-examination. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 9:53 am |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 10:48 am |
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| Bagdad Cafe was indeed a good, and off beat movie. For one thing, I can't quite understand what Joe found objectionable about that guy who wrote the screenplay. Another thing, I wouldn't watch a movie done by a child molester. Allen isn't one. The maker of Powder was. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 11:21 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Houston
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| Lazy rich boy with no principles. He'd have typed and sent in that letter himself if he truly believed it. Plus, envy for someone with the wealth, position, and connections that open so many doors. (Not jealousy: I don't want to take anything from anyone. Just envy: I want it, too.) |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 11:36 am |
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| Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife or ass. (or probably his status either.) |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 11:39 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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Covet is jealousy. Not envy. Look at the distinction.
But, anyway, you're right, it isn't an admirable trait. |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 11:53 am |
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| You are wrong about the meaning of covet. It means to desire. You said that you want it too, so you desire what he has and you don't. That's the definition in my dictionary. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 12:56 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Houston
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| It specifically means desiring the thing a person has, thinking you should have it instead of them. When you covet your neighbor's wife, you don't want another wife for yourself, you want that one. |
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