Weekend Rental Picks

Miss Julie (Alf Sjöberg, 1951)
The film is based on a world-famous play, but unlike most stage adaptations, Miss Julie is actually quite cinematic. The real beauty of Sjöberg's film is the deep focus photography, which makes it probably the closest (and best) descendant of Citizen Kane. Anita Bjöork is absolutely magnetic as the lead character, a wealthy young woman in love with one of the family's servants.

Suddenly, Last Summer (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1959)
I was watching the fascinating documentary The Celluloid Closet, about gay and lesbian representation in films, and they amusingly mentioned this bonkers Tennessee Williams drama. The film was censored so much because of the Production Code that they couldn't even directly mention the main plot point of the film (how Elizabeth Taylor and Katharine Hepburn were getting men for their gay cousin/son Sebastian). The film makes little sense, and is hardly the best film adaptation of Tennessee Williams, but it gives Mommie Dearest a run for its money in terms of batshit craziness. My favorite part has to be the final moments when Elizabeth Taylor gives the horrifying/campy scream when she recalls what happens to Sebastian.

Everyone Says I Love You (Woody Allen, 1996)
If you haven't seen Annie Hall, Woody Allen's masterpiece, go out and see that right now. But since I'm assuming that anyone reading this has already seen it or knows they should see it, I'm going to recommend the Woodman's 1996 musical/comedy. The music is kind of forgettable and no one in the cast really has that great of a singing voice, but that is Allen's intent- to make an "ordinary" musical. What I love most about Everyone Says I Love You is the wonderful ensemble (which includes Woody, Goldie Hawn, Drew Barrymore, Edward Norton, Alan Alda and Julia Roberts!) and the hilarious script, probably his last great comedy. In what other movie can you think of in which all of the characters are dressed and act like Groucho Marx at a New Year's party?

Weekend Rental Picks

A weekly series in which I try to help emerging cinephiles reduce their anxiety by pointing them in the right direction at their local Blockbuster.

Nashville (Robert Altman, 1975)
With the election still on everyone's mind, Altman's multi-character drama set in the country music capital is a great film to keep you in the political mood. Don't worry, the film's not overtly, jam-it-down-your-throat political; it merely uses the presidential campaign of a third party nominee named Hal Phillip Walker merely as a starting point to get the characters involved with each other and, eventually, unites them all. No matter who you are, you will find a character (or two) you can relate with and/or find really fascinating (My favortites? Ronee Blakely's damaged country Queen, Barbara Jean and Henry Gibson's paternal King of Nashville, Haven Hamilton).

The Gold Diggers of 1933 (Mervyn LeRoy, 1933)
And while the economy is going to shit, enjoy this gem of a Warner Brothers musical which tackles the Great Depression head on with fabulous costumes, bitchy actresses, fantastic songs and breathtaking Busby Berkley choreography. A lot of people prefer 42nd Street, but I don't think that film can begin compare with The Gold Diggers of 1933, which hides a tough interior underneath all of the frivolities of a 30's musical.

The Cranes Are Flying (Mikhail Kalatozov, 1957)
Didn't think the Soviets could make a moving romance? I didn't, well, at least until I saw The Cranes Are Flying a few months ago. I was absolutely transfixed by everything concerning this film: the deep focus photography is to die for, the acting is fantastic and the romance actually moves and doesn't just feel like an after thought. Now, if only Hollywood would take lessons from this film on how to make a proper romance and not stick us with crap like The Notebook.

Weekend Rental Picks

A weekly series in which I try to help emerging cinephiles reduce their anxiety by pointing them in the right direction at their local Blockbuster.

The Letter (William Wyler, 1940)
On the surface, William Wyler's The Letter may not seem like anything groundbreaking- a woman (Bette Davis) shoots an acquaintance because she claims he attacked her, but the real reasons soon come out- but its actually one of the finest melodramas Hollywood has ever produced. Add to that the fact that it contains one of Bette Davis' greatest performances and The Letter is definitely a must see.

Roger & Me (Michael Moore, 1989)
Before Michael Moore really hit the big time with Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11, he made Roger & Me, an indicting film about how when GM left Moore's hometown of Flint, Michigan, the city fell apart (and is still trying to recover from). The film is everything you would expect from a Michael Moore film: thought provoking, a strong point of view and, above all else, wildly hilarious.

The Shop on Main Street (Jan Kadar, 1965/6)
The Shop on Main Street is a grim, powerful Holocaust drama, but not in the "triumph of the human spirit" vein. Josef Kroner is a lazy Nazi hoping to make a quick buck by taking over the button shop of an old, eccentric Jewish lady (Ida Kaminska). The shop makes no money, but Kroner grows to sympathize with Kaminska and when the Nazis come to round up the Jews to take them to concentration camps, he has a hard time letting that happen. It's during these last 30 minutes or so, where Kroner debates with his conscious whether or not he should hand the old woman over, that the film really makes an impact. It's a fantastic film that more people need to see and not just write off as another Holocaust film.

Weekend Rental Picks

A weekly series in which I try to help emerging cinephiles reduce their anxiety by pointing them in the right direction at their local Blockbuster.

The Elephant Man (David Lynch, 1980)
The David Lynch film for people who don't really understand David Lynch. I understand why people love him, but I personally need a coherent story to go along with the visuals. The Elephant Man is the first film of Lynch's I saw and the only one that hasn't made me question his sanity. In any one else's hands, this film would have been turned into dreck; with Lynch, it's still uplifting and touching, but the emotions don't feel cheap or forced on us. The friendship between Anthony Hopkins' kindly doctor and John Hurt's grotesquely deformed man (he's not an animal) is a surprising treat as well.

Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, 1938)
The greatest screwball comedy ever made. The film is so layered and well-constructed that it may take a couple of viewings to begin to understand just how brilliant it is. In comparison with romantic comedies of today, Bringing Up Baby just makes them look so lazy and lifeless. The character actors here (Charlie Ruggles, Barry Fitzgerald and May Robson) are all fantastic, but the film really belongs to Cary Grant as the befuddled professor looking for his missing interclostal clavicle and Katharine Hepburn as the motormouth heiress who's in love with Grant, both giving the greatest performances of their careers (although I'm sure that there are others who would disagree).

Bad Education (Pedro Almodovar, 2004)
I was just talking with J.D. about how amazing this film is and I really, really want to see it again. Almodovar's self-proclaimed "fag noir" is really hard to describe since it's basically a strange combination of Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity, a Hitchcock thriller, RuPaul and the infamous make out scene at the end of Y Tu Mama Tambien with sexual abuse at the hands of Catholic priests thrown in as well. As a bonus, Gael Garcia Bernal burns up the screen as the mysterious femme fatale and let's us now that he is an actor to be reckoned with.

Weekend Rental Picks

A weekly series in which I try to help emerging cinephiles reduce their anxiety by pointing them in the right direction at their local Blockbuster.

Bamboozled (Spike Lee, 2000)
Only Spike Lee could get away with a film in which a modern day minstrel show- complete with black actors in horrifying blackface- becomes the hottest show on television. Bamboozled will probably turn people off, and it's not a perfect film, per se, but watching a legendary director fly off the deep end trying to get his completely insane vision on film is worth the price. The satire is brilliant and something most directors either wouldn't have bothered commenting on or don't have the balls to make such radical statements. Their truly is only one Spike Lee.

They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (Sydney Pollack, 1969)
Depressing movie alert! If you are in a suicidal mood, please do not see this movie. Wait until the mood passes and then pop this in your DVD and, trust me, you won't be disappointed. They Shoot Horses, Don't They? is about the desperate characters who join a Depression-era dance marathon. The contest is grueling and takes it's toll- physically, emotionally and psychologically- on the contestants, which includes a hard-as-nails Jane Fonda, a teetering off the edge Susannah York, and a frail Red Buttons with the cocky emcee Gig Young leading everyone on. The film has a perverse pleasure in punishing it's characters, but the punishment is so engrossing to watch.

Les Enfants du Paradis/Children of Paradise (Marcel Carne, 1945)
It's been called the French Gone With the Wind for many years, so it should come as no surprise that Marcel Carne's epic three-hour romance between a French actress (Arletty) and a shy mime (Jean-Louis Barrault) is also one of my favorite films. The film is a stunner to look at, which makes its incredible backstory (it was made during the Nazi occupation and most of the time was spent trying to evade them) that much more incredible and legendary. If you're afraid of the length, don't be; the time flies by and you'll want to watch it again right afterwards. If you can, try to rent the glorious Criterion edition....perfectly beautiful.

Weekend Rental Picks

Broadcast News (James L. Brooks, 1987)
James L. Brooks is perhaps better known today for the mega-weepie Terms of Endearment and the infamous As Good As It Gets, which earned Helen Hunt an Oscar over a lineup including Dame Judi Dench and Julie Chrisite, but Broadcast News, his nearly forgotten, rarely discussed film from 1987, is his real masterpiece. Broadcast News is about so many things-- male/female relationships, a love triangle, ethics of the TV news, the wackiness that goes on behind the scenes, women in power-- but, unlike most films that would crumble under all that heft, Brooks' film thrives under the pressure. Broadcast News is funny, literate and beautifully done, the type of smart film that we sadly don't see much of anymore. And what a cast: Holly Hunter excels in one of her first big roles, Albert Brooks gives Woody Allen a run for his money as the most neurotic actor around and William Hurt, whom I never thought much of as an actor beforehand, is fantastic as the "dumb jock" who gets by in life on his looks.

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (Frank Capra, 1936)
It Happened One Night and It's a Wonderful Life are Frank Capra's masterpieces, but Mr. Deeds Goes to Town is my favorite film of his. Silly, but never ridiculous; dreamily romantic, but never sappy; idealistic, but never preachy- it's the type of film only Frank Capra could do and get away with (as evidenced by the abysmal failure that was the Adam Sandler remake a few years ago). Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur both give their best performances as the common man fighting the corrupt system and the newswoman who first laughs at Cooper's foreigness but later commends it, respectively.

La Strada (Federico Fellini, 1956)
Federico Fellini would quickly become a more sophisticated (and, as a result, less accessible) filmmaker after the worldwide success of this film. To me, however, nothing that I've seen of his (except for, possibly, the first half of La Dolce Vita) has ever come close to the beautiful, humanistic La Strada. Giulietta Masina plays the impish, Chaplin-esque wife of a brutish strongman (Anthony Quinn) and Fellini follows their exploits all around the Italian countryside. La Strada is touching, precious, gently funny and enormously charming; if you're going to try Fellini, this is the perfect place to start.

Weekend Rental Picks

A couple of weeks ago, I received this really lovely e-mail from a reader who took the time to compliment my blog and my writing. Needless to say, as I'm sure other bloggers can attest to, this little bit of ego stroking was extremely welcome. In this readers extremely thorough e-mail, he mentioned that there might be young readers just getting interested in film who may not know where exactly to start when at their local Blockbuster or loading their Netflix queue and that I should point them in the right direction. I thought about this for a little while and I decided that this would be a good idea to try. So, every Friday I'm going to offer three movie suggestions for the weekend using my rental methodology (which is, admitedly, a little OCD on my part): I always get one "modern" film from the last 20 years that, for one reason or another, I missed out on, one classic film and one foreign film. I hope this helps out at least one reader who just feels overwhelmed at all of the movies they can explore.

A Room With a View (James Ivory, 1986)

I respected Howards End and The Remains of the Day, Ivory's big Oscar films from the early 90's, but I didn't exactly like or ever have a desire to see them again. When I rented A Room With a View for my Dame Judi Dench celebration last year, I was excited for the Dench, but I wasn't looking forward to the film at all. Nevertheless, I gave it a shot and, lo and behold, it was a magnificent film. Where Howards End and The Remains of the Day are too restrained in their emotions for my taste and tad stodgy, A Room With a View is full of life, humor and color. Helena Bonham Carter is fun as the spunky heroine, but the film belongs to Dame Maggie Smith as Carter's befuddled chaperone and Daniel Day-Lewis as Carter's stuffed shirt fiancee.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Mike Nichols, 1966)

Be prepared for this one. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is one of the most intense filmmaking excursions I've ever seen. From the opening moments with Elizabeth Taylor berating her husband, Richard Burton, for not remembering the name of the Bette Davis picture that the line "What a dump!" comes from, you get sucked into George and Martha's intense game of wits and viciousness. Plus, the cast is all in top notch form, giving the best performances of their respective careers.

Cleo de 5 a 7 (Agnes Varda, 1962)

While the Nouvelle Vague (French New Wave) was receiving worldwide attention, a smaller movement called the Rive Gauche was taking place inside France. Cleo de 5 a 7 was one of the masterpieces from this movenment. The film follows two hours in the life of a young woman awaiting test results that will tell her if she has cancer. During those two hours, the woman contemplates her mortality, escapes her situation for a few fleeting moments with a friend, meets with her accompanist to go over songs she may never record and may possibly find a new relationship with a young man she meets on the way to find out her results. It's true that not much happens, plot wise, but this possibly the most fascinating character study I've ever seen. So many different emotions pour through Cleo during the course of the film but it never feels trashy or over the top; instead, Varda focuses on ordinary life and makes it fascinating.