1968: Movies Sorted By Tier
Submitted by jim on Tue, 08/31/2004 - 11:51
Tags:
Loved
Once Upon a Time in the West
... There was a western from my youth, and all I could remember about it was the scene with the the noose and the bad guys. That scene stayed burned into my mind for all these years, so of course watching this I kept wondering, "could it be that THIS is this THAT movie?" It is, and it's wonderful. The rest of the movie is a fabulous run-up to the revelatory scene I remember so well, and I'm quite sure I'd added several other sequences to long-term memory after this viewing. The fly, Fonda's entrance, and those fabulous vistas. One of Leone's weirder--and perhaps slower--westerns, but also arguably his best (it's tough to pick a Clint-less Leone for the title though). And why haven't I seen Claudia Cardinale in anything else? Perusing her filmography I see that she never made the leap across the pond. I can only assume that choice was voluntary, as she certainly had the requisite looks and fire. As for Charles Bronson, it always makes me a bit sad to watch one of these early great roles and then remember that he was relegated to Death Wish sequel hell for like 20 years.Really Liked
The Swimmer
... Burt Lancaster. My my. I hope I look that good at 55. Looking in the mirror at 34, I've probably already lost that game. Based on a John "Cheerful" Cheever short story, the film tells the tale of a man who decides to swim across the county to his home, via all his affluent neighbors' swimming pools. Lancaster is amazing to watch. He starts off looking lean, energetic, and chisled, and by the end of his crushing journey he looks old, flabby, and beaten. Sometimes memory lane is a dark and lonely place. For no good reason, I've never given Burt Lancaster enough credit. I've always thought of him as perhaps the Harrison Ford of his day: popular and charismatic, but a bit of a one-note song. Having seen a few more Lancaster movies though, I have to say the guy made interesting choices, and pulled them off. After this movie, I'll never sell him short again.The Lion in Winter
... Boy, and I thought *I* found Christmas stressful! The ultimate family holiday disaster. Henry II invites his three sons and imprisoned wife over for Christmas so they can scheme, plot and backstab over which son will inherit the throne. Possibly the schemingest movie I've ever seen, with great quotes and insults. This movie is all about the script and the performances, as this is basically a filmed play (although the on-location scenery adds to the mood). I docked points for minor pacing problems and occasional (very) heavy-handed dialog. I also wasn't as emotionally engaged as I should have been, which is the biggest thing keeping it from the next tier up. Certainly worth it for the script or performances alone.Night of the Living Dead
... Low budget, black and white, surprisingly creepy, with a killer climax and, as a bonus, equally good denouement (although slightly predictable). When one character is taken away in a sea of hands it is particularly willie-inducing, just because you know what's going to happen to her off-camera (and no, I don't mean go back to her trailer).Rosemary's Baby
Targets
... Very interesting on all kinds of meta-film levels: Boris Karloff playing the aging movie star who laments that his kind of horror is now camp. Peter Bogdanovich, the director, playing a director who laments "all the good pictures have been made" (this from the guy who's next movie would be The Last Picture Show), and then there's the gimmick of shooting the audience through the screen; I have no idea what that is supposed to mean, but I'm sure it's significant. The movie does a great job making the shooting spree horrific, probably by making the killings quick and matter-of-fact rather than flashy. Finally, Nancy Hsueh plays a wonderful Asian-American character. I'm not sure when Asian stereotypes started to disappear from movies, but it struck me that they were probably still around in '68. Just a hunch. Not here though.Glad I Saw
Planet of the Apes
The Producers
Guilty Pleasures
- None Yet
Could Have Missed
The Love Bug
... Good for watching with the kids, but doesn't have quite enough appeal for an audience composed entirely of adults.Should Have Missed
- None Yet
El Sucko Grande
- None Yet
Unranked
2001: A Space Odyssey
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Cloned From:
The first time I noticed Claudia Cardinale was in the first Pink Panther movie. She is 66 now and I think she still looks great.
What's the UNRANKED category for?
In this case for movies I'd have to see again to place.
You know I am absolutely thrilled that you watched Once Upon a Time in the West (again, as it turns out) and that you loved it.
That scene... It burned into my brain during a Saturday morning junior high viewing, and I still think it is one of a kind.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Oh yes, that scene, that scene! Unforgettable. The rest of the movie really seemed completely new to me though. I wonder if I caught it while doing some youthful channel surfing, and even standing alone it etched a deep furrow in my mind? Probably, as I think I would have remembered the fly scene too, at least.
Hey, what did you think of Once Upon a Time in America? It's my big Leone lacuna now.
Leone Lacuna - that would be a good name for a rock band.
If it is your Leone lacuna, wouldn't you have had to possess it at some point?
Ah, technicalities...
I love Once Upon a Time in America. The DVD version is particularly yummy.
Once Upon a Time in the West gets my vote for best opening credits ever...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Alrighty then, I'll seek it out!
As for "lacuna", I think I used it correctly, unless I misunderstand you (which would serve me right for gettin' all fancy when "gap" would have sufficed).
That definition is true, but technically, traditionally (and the word may not be used so much as such any more), that gap is from a missing piece of something that was once, at some time, there. Here's a technical definition (from here):
"Plural lacunae. From Latin lacuna, gap, pool, cavern. With reference to manuscripts, it means to be defective for a portion of the text (usually short). Notice that a lacuna always refers to a portion of a manuscript which has been lost (due to the disappearance of leaves or the effects of water or trimming or whatever); it should not be used to refer to a section of the text which never was found in a manuscript. The adjective lacunose may refer to a manuscript with many lacunae."
In my experience, this same sense is retained when talking about items other than manuscripts as well. That sense, however, may have fallen into disuse, and I may just be outdated.
In fact, most likely, I am.
I'm too nitpicky, and apparently archaic, so ignore me! (Do you like how I talked myself out of something in the course of a single post?)
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Still good to know! I'd never seen anything but the terse, modern, for-dummies definition. Hell, one of the few good vocabulary words I've managed to acquire since my S.A.T. days, and now I'm not going to be able to use it as often! Oh well, at least I still have "oeuvre".
I thought that "lacuna" was being used in the anatomical sense, especially when talking about a body of work. So one could say (but hopefully wouldn't) that "In the osso bucco that is Sergio Leone's work, I have yet to suck out the marrow that is Once Upon a Time in America ." That is unless you think that Once Upon a Time in America is the gristle on Leone's shank. To quote Roger Ebert on this matter: Pass the veal!
I have to ask - did you download Night of the Living Dead off archive.org?
Nope. Netflixed it.
I'm glad you liked Targets so much! I was struck by how chilling the shooting spree was as well, and as a bridge between older horror and a new, more brutal style, it works flawlessly--Karloff's story about Death and the man in Baghdad is just as frightening as the killer.
Johnny Waco
Thanks, nice to see you here again! I loved Karloff's story. While I didn't find it nearly as scary as the killer, it sure was wonderfully delivered.