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Post by idioticbunny on Jul 13, 2017 17:32:57 GMT
Making a lot more progress than I was in the last decade, but this year was pretty standard. The only real groundbreaking film was King Kong, and I've always loved that film, but a recent re-watch made me realize how much Peter Jackson's version improved upon the story. Still, a great film, but not near the heights I once thought it reached. Design for Living is the only real surprise here as I might even enjoy it more than Trouble in Paradise from last year, but I'll buy it on Criterion down the road to see if that's true or not. Can't wait to watch more Lubitsch now. My biggest disappointment was Dinner at Eight, which seemed to try and capture the magic of Grand Hotel but I felt was a misfire. Still, strong performances lend it to a decent rating in my mind. Also excited to get into Hitchcock's major work now, as soon as I get my copy of The Lodger from Criterion in the mail. Anyway, here's what I've got for 1933:
Best Picture:
01. Design for Living.
02. The Testament of Dr. Mabuse.
03. Little Women.
04. King Kong.
05. Footlight Parade.
06. Duck Soup.
07. 42nd Street.
08. Dinner at Eight.
09. Queen Christina.
10. The Invisible Man.
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11. The Private Life of Henry VIII.
12. She Done Him Wrong.
Best Director:
01. Fritz Lang - The Testament of Dr. Mabuse.
02. Ernst Lubitsch - Design for Living.
03. Leo McCarey - Duck Soup.
04. Merian C. Cooper & Ernest B. Schoedsack - King Kong.
05. Lloyd Bacon - Footlight Parade.
Best Actor:
01. Gary Cooper - Design for Living.
02. James Cagney - Footlight Parade.
03. Fredric March - Design for Living.
04. Claude Rains - The Invisible Man.
05. Charles Laughton - The Private Life of Henry VIII.
Best Actress:
01. Katharine Hepburn - Little Women.
02. Miriam Hopkins - Design for Living.
03. Greta Garbo - Queen Christina.
04. Fay Wray - King Kong.
05. Mae West - She Done Him Wrong.
Best Supporting Actor:
01. Paul Lukas - Little Women.
02. Otto Wernicke - The Testament of Dr. Mabuse.
03. John Barrymore - Dinner at Eight.
04. Robert Armstrong - King Kong.
05. Warner Baxter - 42nd Street.
Best Supporting Actress:
01. Bebe Daniels - 42nd Street.
02. Elsa Lanchester - The Private Life of Henry VIII.
03. Spring Byington - Little Women.
04. Joan Blondell - Footlight Parade.
05. Billie Burke - Dinner at Eight.
Best Original Screenplay:
01. Duck Soup.
02. Footlight Parade.
03. King Kong.
04. The Private Life of Henry VIII.
Best Adapted Screenplay:
01. Design for Living.
02. Little Women.
03. The Testament of Dr. Mabuse.
04. Dinner at Eight.
05. 42nd Street.
Best Ensemble:
01. Design for Living.
02. Dinner at Eight.
03. Little Women.
04. The Private Life of Henry VIII.
05. 42nd Street.
Best Editing:
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse.
Best Cinematography:
42nd Street.
Best Art Direction:
Footlight Parade.
Best Costume Design:
Little Women.
Best Makeup:
The Private Life of Henry VIII.
Best Visual Effects:
King Kong.
Best Sound Design:
42nd Street.
Best Original Score:
Max Steiner - King Kong.
Best Original Song:
"By a Waterfall" - Footlight Parade.
Special mention to Busby Berkeley who absolutely owns the third acts of both 42nd Street and Footlight Parade. Would love to check out any more work of his that anyone feels is worth watching (I've already added Gold Diggers of 1935 to my list). I was pretty lukewarm on 42nd Street up until its finale, but damn what a finale. Also can't believe how quickly Ruby Keeler came and went in the industry. She was in like four or five musicals in a row then practically vanished.
Also God bless Max Steiner for pretty much setting the bar for film scores for years to come. His Kong and Little Women scores are marvelous.
I can't believe this is my first Gary Cooper film, too. He was so effortlessly charming and hilarious in Design, so I'd love any more recommendations of his work too (Mr. Deeds and Pride of the Yankees are already on my must-see).
As usual, would love any recs for 1934. It Happened One Night, The Man Who Knew Too Much, L'Atalante and Thin Man are must-sees for me, the rest are up in the air.
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Post by stephen on Jul 13, 2017 17:41:50 GMT
Recommendations for 1934:
It Happened One Night
Les Miserables
Cleopatra
The Count of Monte Cristo
The Goddess
Imitation of Life
L’Atalante
The Lost Patrol
The Man Who Knew Too Much
The Painted Veil
The Scarlet Empress
The Thin Man
Viva Villa!
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Post by idioticbunny on Jul 13, 2017 18:05:42 GMT
stephenDo you prefer this Les Mis or the 1935 version? Also, thanks again for the recs.
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Post by stephen on Jul 13, 2017 18:10:41 GMT
stephen Do you prefer this Les Mis or the 1935 version? Also, thanks again for the recs. I think the 1934 version is the best version of the story that has ever been produced. But the '35 version is no slouch either. Harry Baur's Valjean is sensational, but I think Laughton was the better Javert. Honestly, why not save the '34 version (epic as it is) until last for the 1934 viewings, then watch the '35 to kickstart that year? |
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Post by idioticbunny on Jul 13, 2017 18:14:00 GMT
stephen Do you prefer this Les Mis or the 1935 version? Also, thanks again for the recs. I think the 1934 version is the best version of the story that has ever been produced. But the '35 version is no slouch either. Harry Baur's Valjean is sensational, but I think Laughton was the better Javert. Honestly, why not save the '34 version (epic as it is) until last for the 1934 viewings, then watch the '35 to kickstart that year? I may possibly do that. Though after nearly 5 hours of Les Mis, I might want a rest  Either way, I'll probably wind up watching both of them. I'm a fan of Fredric March, and I thought Charles Laughton had a lot of potential in Henry. It Happened One Night is your favorite of the year, though, correct? |
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Post by stephen on Jul 13, 2017 18:16:11 GMT
I think the 1934 version is the best version of the story that has ever been produced. But the '35 version is no slouch either. Harry Baur's Valjean is sensational, but I think Laughton was the better Javert. Honestly, why not save the '34 version (epic as it is) until last for the 1934 viewings, then watch the '35 to kickstart that year? I may possibly do that. Though after nearly 5 hours of Les Mis, I might want a rest Either way, I'll probably wind up watching both of them. I'm a fan of Fredric March, and I thought Charles Laughton had a lot of potential in Henry. It Happened One Night is your favorite of the year, though, correct? Yeah, you may get Les Mis'd out pretty easy. It's a real shame you didn't love The Private Life of Henry VIII as much as I'd hoped, and really shocked you didn't go for Oberon, who I think deserved an Anne Boleyn film on her own. It Happened One Night is my favorite, yes. One of the rare times I agree with an Oscar sweep (it takes my Big Five as well). But dude, you're about to experience The Year of Colbert. She is a force to be reckoned with. |
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Post by idioticbunny on Jul 13, 2017 18:23:06 GMT
I may possibly do that. Though after nearly 5 hours of Les Mis, I might want a rest Either way, I'll probably wind up watching both of them. I'm a fan of Fredric March, and I thought Charles Laughton had a lot of potential in Henry. It Happened One Night is your favorite of the year, though, correct? Yeah, you may get Les Mis'd out pretty easy. It's a real shame you didn't love The Private Life of Henry VIII as much as I'd hoped, and really shocked you didn't go for Oberon, who I think deserved an Anne Boleyn film on her own. It Happened One Night is my favorite, yes. One of the rare times I agree with an Oscar sweep (it takes my Big Five as well). But dude, you're about to experience The Year of Colbert. She is a force to be reckoned with. I'm excited. That would actually be both my first Gable and Colbert film. The film itself has been on the top of my must-see list for a long time, thought about just blind-buying it from Criterion during the sale but figured I'd wait just in case (because money). Despite the low placement, I actually thought the film was decent. The only film I didn't like was She Done Him Wrong, which I think was just a stale story and a serviceable but repetitive lead performance from Mae West. Henry was really strong from an acting standpoint, and Oberon is actually my second favorite of the females (she made such an incredible impression which such a small amount of screen time). The film itself seemed to have a bit of vanilla direction and Laughton was strong, but at times felt like his acting was a bit too much (though I understand that was important for the character which is why I don't mind so much). Still a solid 7 from me. Is there anything else from Oberon you might be able to recommend? |
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Post by stephen on Jul 13, 2017 18:29:54 GMT
I'm excited. That would actually be both my first Gable and Colbert film. The film itself has been on the top of my must-see list for a long time, thought about just blind-buying it from Criterion during the sale but figured I'd wait just in case (because money). Despite the low placement, I actually thought the film was decent. The only film I didn't like was She Done Him Wrong, which I think was just a stale story and a serviceable but repetitive lead performance from Mae West. Henry was really strong from an acting standpoint, and Oberon is actually my second favorite of the females (she made such an incredible impression which such a small amount of screen time). The film itself seemed to have a bit of vanilla direction and Laughton was strong, but at times felt like his acting was a bit too much (though I understand that was important for the character which is why I don't mind so much). Still a solid 7 from me. Is there anything else from Oberon you might be able to recommend? It would've been well-worth the blind buy. I wasn't sure you'd like She Done Him Wrong, but I did feel you had to experience Mae West in her heyday. As for Oberon, there's her Oscar-nominated performance in The Dark Angel and her work in The Divorce of Lady X and Wuthering Heights. |
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Post by Joaquim on Jul 13, 2017 19:47:24 GMT
Check out It Happened One Night like Stephen said.
Also watch The Black Cat. I wasn't huge on it but it's worth a watch.
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Post by idioticbunny on Jul 13, 2017 20:33:20 GMT
JoaquimI typically save horror films for October so I can binge watch them all month long, so I was planning on having a classic Universal horror marathon that month basically. So it's definitely on my list 
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Post by pickpocket on Jul 13, 2017 22:59:39 GMT
I wasn't particularly impressed with Dinner at Eight either. While parts of it were good (I liked the interplay between Dressler and Harlow), as a whole it didn't quite work.
As for 1934, The Count of Monte Cristo is quite riveting throughout. Well worth watching. The 1930s were a really good time for Hollywood costume dramas (also really like the following year's Les Mis and 1939's The Man in the Iron Mask).
Other 1934 recommendations:
The Barretts of Wimpole Street
The Gay Divorcee
Little Man, What Now?
The Scarlett Pimpernel
Thirty Day Princess
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Post by idioticbunny on Jul 14, 2017 0:55:19 GMT
pickpocketThanks again for the recommendations! Glad I'm not alone on Dinner at Eight. I always had the impression it was a classic favorite of people here, so I was surprised how disappointing it was. Especially since Grand Hotel may very well be the best thing I've seen thus far in the '30s. I'm not too big on costume dramas, but I'll definitely be sure to check at least one of those out. I love to be surprised. Gay Divorcee is definitely high priority for me since I've yet to see a Fred & Ginger picture, and Top Hat is one I'm dying to check out, so I like to check out an early work with them to see their progression. I had a hard time tracking down those other films, but they're on my list too (except I hadn't heard of Little Man, What Now? but I loved Borzage's 7th Heaven, which is one of my favorites of the 1920s).
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Post by pickpocket on Jul 14, 2017 5:15:56 GMT
I'd say you're in for a treat with Gay Divorcee. It really set in motion the Fred & Ginger formula. The other essential film of theirs is Swing Time, which some argue is better than Top Hat (and I would agree that Swing Time reaches greater heights, but Top Hat is more consistent overall). All nine of their films are worth checking out though, just to see the progression as you mentioned. Each film has at least one worthy dance within it.
Seeing as you enjoyed 7th Heaven, I'd definitely recommend checking out the other silents he did with Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell, Street Angel and Lucky Star (the latter is criminally underseen).
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Post by idioticbunny on Jul 14, 2017 17:36:58 GMT
Oh yeah, from what little I've seen of Janet Gaynor, she blew me away every time so I'll be checking out more of her work when I come back 'round to it They only made 9 films together? That's crazy, for some reason I thought it was a lot more. I'll definitely try and get around to as many as I can then. It's so strange, I was never big on musicals for the longest time, but the early ones are just so well-made it's hard not to enjoy them. |
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tobias
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Post by tobias on Jul 16, 2017 0:21:02 GMT
idioticbunnyInteresting lineup. You did skip my favorite (Liebelei) though but of course it's not running away. From those I've seen from your lineup my favorite would have to be Mabuse. It's just such a great crime thriller and at the same time, like all 3 of Lang's Mabuse films, a portrait of Germany at the time. I'm rather lukewarm on Design for Living myself but I understand that it gets a lot of love and I think it depends mostly on the mood. It's definitely a good film but I feel like I like the concept a little more than the actual film. Still it's Lubitsch, so I'm being a bit nitpicky. King Kong and The Invisible Man I think are both good fun and have some really cool special effects (King Kong is incredibly well done animation, Invisible Man is rather a neat trick well pulled off). Duck Soup I'm again a little lukewarm. Some jokes are great and McCarey is a really good director but it didn't completely win me over but it's also the only Marx Brothers I've seen. I feel that if I watch one or 2 more, I might begin to like this one a little better. I'd really like to see 42nd Street. I've seen some clips from it in Scorsese's doc (if you haven't seen it, it's a good idea to check that out btw, it made me excited about tons of movies from classical Hollywood I knew little about before) and I really liked what I saw. As for the others, I don't know too much about any of them but apart from She Done Him Wrong and Dinner at Eight, I've actually heard of them all and am interested in all except She Done Him Wrong (however not extremely interested). I did read soemthing interesting about Korda recently and put the Private Life of Henry in my watchlist afterwards, what didn't you like about it? Queen Christina has Garbo, though the story seems a little meh. Footlight Parade was in my watchlist but I didn't really remember it. After looking into it, it seems like a musical that abuses it's precode status (not like I'm complaining). The other 2 are from Cukor who I've only seen one film by so far, though I'd really like to see more from him (only seen Philadelphia Story which was nice but which didn't knock me out of my socks). However I think I'd rather watch some of his more acclaimed films first and if I get into him I'll be sure to come back here as it seems Cukor made lots of popular films. Edit: as for 1934 consider La signora di Tutti, I think you would really like it. It's basicly like Citizen Kane, just 7 years earlier (and of course on a smaller scale with a narrative that isn't quite as tight). I think the others I could recomend must be high in your watchlist already. I would also recommend Man of Aran but if you're not so much into Flaherty it might not be for you. There is definitely not much story here.
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Post by idioticbunny on Jul 16, 2017 1:09:49 GMT
tobias I actually tried to find Liebelei but to no avail. It's still on my to-see list for next time around. Mabuse is really strong, but once again suffers from Lang's association with von Harbou which leaves his films overly talkative and exposition-heavy when I'd rather just watch him work his magic with visuals - something I think Hitchcock picked up on and ran away with, hence why he's my favorite. As I know you're a big Lubitsch fan, which are your favorites of his? I was kind of lukewarm to him during the silent era, but he's totally won me over in the '30s. Design for Living isn't as brilliant as Trouble in Paradise, but I just love the script and acting so much more. It's just a story that shouldn't work, yet it totally does, and I loved every second of it. The two are pretty close, I don't know which I'd say I love more, but I'm dying to grab them on Criterion and watch them again down the road. Invisible Man was cool for special effects and Claude Rains' performance, but it just felt like fragments of a story rather than a whole complete picture. James Whale tries his best, but I think maybe Universal or the screenwriters botched it there. King Kong is a nostalgic one for me, but a recent re-watch showed the script was pretty damn weak. Still, so much to admire about it and its groundbreaking effects. Changed movies forever. Duck Soup is probably my second favorite of the Marx Brothers' movies, but that's not saying much. Their sense of humor is such an acquired taste, but my favorite - standing far above the rest - is Animal Crackers. So I'd say work your way there next and see how you feel. It's nowhere near as zany and surreal as Duck Soup (not by a long shot), but there are genius comedic gimmicks that are reminiscent of early Buster Keaton and a use of fourth-wall breaking that might be some of the best ever used. Oh, I've never heard of Scorsese's documentary. What's it called? 42nd Street is another game-changer, but to a much smaller effect. I don't think the story is as strong as Footlight Parade from the same year (and same director, and same musical director, and same Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell, etc...) which benefits from James Cagney's magnetic lead performance, but both films (and Dames from 1934) all feature incredible third-act musical pieces that are truly astonishing and better than the films themselves - but that's more Busby Berkeley's work (the musical director) than Lloyd Bacon (the director). I'd recommend checking either of those three films out for the music and choreography alone. I'd say skip She Done Him Wrong mainly because unless you're a Mae West fan, there's not much to really enjoy there. Henry VIII was a decent movie, but there was just something lacking narratively. It just passed from one wife to the next and we never really get to know the main character other than he's a bigot and a slob (which, maybe that's all you need to know). Plus I think Laughton's performance was a bit over-the-top (even for an eccentric character), but I know Stephen is a huge fan so take my opinion with a grain of salt. The supporting actress performances are more than worth the price of admission. Queen Christina is good, and Garbo's okay, but she's been better elsewhere. I more or less watched it for Rouben Mamoulian, and his direction didn't disappoint, but it's not the type of groundbreaking, visionary stuff he laid on thick in his other '30s films. Cukor's work on Little Women is marvelous. It captures the warmth and naturalness of a period so long ago, and it's headlined by a total star-making turn from Katharine Hepburn (and some sweet little supporting performances). His work on Dinner at Eight, however, is a bit stage-y. Decent for the performances, but the pacing drags and the camera hardly moves an inch - something that made its predecessor, Grand Hotel, so... grand (hee-hee). I have Man of Aran and La signora di Tutti on my list, but couldn't find the latter and yeah, as you mentioned, I'm not big on Flaherty - as much as I admire his vision for non-fiction storytelling.
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tobias
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Post by tobias on Jul 16, 2017 4:41:25 GMT
idioticbunnyHere is a version of Liebelei if you can also find subs (luckily I did not have to struggle with this as german is my main language): Where did you find 42nd Street btw? As for Lubitsch my very favorite is Ninotchka (also Garbo's best performance from what I've seen) but The Shop Around the Corner and To Be or not to Be are in the same trifecta. The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1927) would probably come in 4th and I also like Die Puppe (1919), Trouble in Paradise (1932)and The Smiling Lieautenant (1931) a lot. Indeed, invisible man screenwriting is far from perfect. The Scorsese doc is this one: www.imdb.com/title/tt0112120/?ref_=nv_sr_1
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Post by idioticbunny on Jul 16, 2017 17:03:27 GMT
tobiasYeah, the subtitles would certainly help a lot I'm sure with a little time a version will pop up or Criterion will get a hold of it somehow! I actually find some of my movies, including 42nd Street, through a torrent site called Sockshare . It seems to be the least infested with viruses or anything like that, but I only use it when I really have to. I'm sure there are better sites, but I'm pretty bad at figuring out where to find them. Nice! That's the second time someone has recommended his 1940s work, so it seems the best has yet to come. I'm excited! I'll be sure to make his silent films a priority when I work my way back around too. I've officially added that documentary to my list. Thank you. I love watching filmmakers talk about movies. William Friedkin, Martin Scorsese, and David Lynch are all such a treat to watch discuss their favorites.
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tobias
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Post by tobias on Jul 17, 2017 23:31:08 GMT
idioticbunnyYou should really consider to watch the Scorsese doc outside of your normal challenge because Scorsese only talks movies from their inception in America to when he personally started to make films (middle of the 60's) and I don't think you want to wait with that until the 1990's. It's really good to get some overview and it could help you to see stuff in films you might have otherwise missed. The parts I liked the best where when he talked about stuff I was the least into at the time (westerns and musicals). The best thing about it is that it makes you excited to watch just about all the films he mentiones (I know I really wanted to see Cat People afterwards and when I finally did it was amazing). Lubitsch definitely was at his peak around the lae 30's/early 40's. From a craftman perpsective the films are pretty damn flawless and they perform a tightrope act inbetween story and comedy. They're honestly more involving dramas than many actual dramas. If you look at the technical stuff like lighting, blocking, pacing, composition and camera movements, you can see how incredibly skilled a director Lubitsch was (Angel is a film where he most obviously toys around with how he tells the story but it's first of all not a real comedy and then also not remotely on par with the later 3 greats - I still like it a fair deal though). If you do not look for it, you will not notice it but I can't stress enough how amazing and tight Lubitsch was as a director in his late years. He's legitimately a contender for the title of greatest craftsman of all time, at least in the realm of drama and comedy but it often goes unnoticed because it's completely subordinated to the story and the humor. One thing I should mention though is that once you get to Heaven Can Wait, don't expect anything. It's often held up as one of his best and I do think it's a fascinating movie but the tone is entirely different and it will likely put you a little off if you expect another To be or Not to Be. Heaven can Wait is a film that is actually more of a tragedy than a comedy, with a very dark kind of mix between tragedy and comedy. it does not pick up the crazy heat of some of his other films but it's not going for that. I have not yet seen Cluny Brown but that looks really good as well and I suspect it's more in the line of my 3 favorites.
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Post by idioticbunny on Jul 18, 2017 0:10:47 GMT
tobiasI'll definitely try and track it down. I love being swayed by someone's passionate opinion on anything, so I'd love to have more reason to watch classic musicals - as that was a genre I had not been big on until sometime late last year. Oh, I've certainly noticed. It feels like the camera is always just sitting still like most films around this time period did (due to constrictions), but it actually flows quite a bit and gives the actors room to move and make the scenes more exciting. It's less obvious in Design for Living, but it's more so in Trouble in Paradise, which is definitely one of the most wonderfully directed films of the decade so far. I've heard Heaven Can Wait is a very dramatic film, so I certainly would've expected that. If anything, I'm more curious about it that way because I know he's such a genius comedic director, but I'd love to see how he works with a straight-up drama. I'm definitely going to try and get through as many of his films as I can (or at least choose to, since I do have to make room for some others as well that I've been dying to get around to).
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tobias
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Post by tobias on Jul 18, 2017 1:21:10 GMT
idioticbunnyHe actually has a straight up drama from 1932, Broken Lullaby. If I'm not mistaken that's his only 100 % straight talky drama (in silent film he did lots that was not comedy). Angel and Heaven Can Wait are some weird hybrids that lean more towards drama than towards comedy (in my opinion at least, maybe someone else would say they are closer to comedy).
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Post by idioticbunny on Jul 18, 2017 2:06:58 GMT
tobiasAlright, well I'll be sure to check out more of his work when I get to it!
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Either way, I'll probably wind up watching both of them. I'm a fan of Fredric March, and I thought Charles Laughton had a lot of potential in Henry.
