Nikan
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Post by Nikan on Sept 5, 2023 19:21:53 GMT
I finally watched Holiday today; the lesser talked-about Grant + Hepburn picture of 1938... I was surprised how less of a full-blown screwball it was; instead the characters have conversations about where they want to go in life (don't we all? at least internally?) and reflect on them. Hepburn almost sheds a tear even... to say it was simply good would be an understatement tbh... and Cukor will direct arguably THE Hepburn movie (and performance) of her B&W era in a couple of years from this. There were these Capra-ish elements (like the use of dolls and music for characters on the more eccentric side; our "heroes") but they were all compressed in one household for majority of the time (feels like this was based on a play) so I can't say if it's the most effective film of this kind from that era with this message (the more "bold" and less "tight" You Can't Take it with You came out the same year) but it was heartfelt. I automatically compared this to Hawkes and Capra; most of these classic joints look and sound the same but it's joyful to recognize stuff and distinguish the artists and personas behind and in front of the screen as you dive deeper into them... So what you guys think about "the women's director" George Cukor? Favorite moments of triumph? I love The Philadelphia Story, but can't forgive him for My Fair Lady...  |
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Nikan
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Post by Nikan on Sept 7, 2023 0:19:45 GMT
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Post by stephen on Sept 7, 2023 0:21:38 GMT
He was a great director but man, I do not like his Oscar win.
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Post by TylerDeneuve on Sept 7, 2023 1:04:07 GMT
I have to recommend one of his lesser-known works - 1956's Bhowani Junction, filmed on location in Pakistan. I quite like Film at Lincoln Center's write-up about the film: “It was a different kind of experience for me,” Cukor said of Bhowani Junction , his adaption of John Masters’ 1954 novel about an Anglo-Indian woman torn between lovers and national allegiances in the midst of de-colonization. “It excited me—and then we had a bad preview.” The film was bluntly re-cut, Ava Gardner’s volatile heroine tamed, and the film’s central political conflict muffled—but what remains is still one of Cukor’s most daring and personal films: an acute portrait of a nation in turmoil, and a pointed statement on Britain’s legacy of oppression.
I still think it's Ava Gardner's best performance, and to my mind, she was never more ravishingly beautiful than she was here.  |
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Post by futuretrunks on Sept 7, 2023 1:10:36 GMT
Great director. I like Preston Sturges and Lubitsch more, but he's up there. I like Billy Wilder, but I think Cukor is greater.
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Post by SeanJoyce on Sept 7, 2023 17:43:03 GMT
I like Billy Wilder, but I think Cukor is greater. I think that's sacrilege, but they were both great friends and it was Cukor actually who suggested Gloria Swanson for Sunset Blvd. when Wilder was having difficulty casting the role of Norma Desmond. And funnily enough, it was Judy Holliday who "stole" Swanson's Oscar for Cukor's Born Yesterday that year. And wouldn't you know it, the male lead in both movies was...William Holden, who established his stardom with that 1-2 punch. Holiday is terrific; like you said, a lot more subdued than one would initially think given its reputation; both it and The Philadelphia Story (one of my all-time favorite movies and one of the best screenplays ever written) are IMO unfairly grouped in with the screwball comedies that were so prevalent in that era. Big fan of Gaslight too...can never get enough of those elegant, Victorian-set thrillers and chamber dramas. Of all the classic filmmakers, he's one I need to see more from. I've always been curious how much he contributed to both The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind, both of Fleming's 1939 triumphs that Cukor was involved with to some degree. He's also curiously uncredited on Lust for Life, which I believe is news to me. |
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Nikan
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Post by Nikan on Sept 7, 2023 21:12:17 GMT
To totally change the conversation to his actress for a sec, 1935-40 Kate Hepburn was truly gorgeous. Planning to watch Stage Door next...  |
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Post by pacinoyes on Sept 7, 2023 21:36:29 GMT
To totally change the conversation to his actress for a sec, 1935-40 Kate Hepburn was gorgeous. Planning to watch Stage Door next... I love her looks and style so much ........only Garbo rivals her in the way her physical persona seems jarringly out of time - so they then becomes timeless - There are some times you look at Katherine Hepburn and she seems like a statue come to life - or something like a work of Art - all sharp elbows and shoulders and high loose pants.........the Cate Blanchett of her day tbh  ![]()  |
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Post by urbanpatrician on Sept 8, 2023 0:27:44 GMT
I like Billy Wilder, but I think Cukor is greater. I think that's sacrilege, but they were both great friends and it was Cukor actually who suggested Gloria Swanson for Sunset Blvd. when Wilder was having difficulty casting the role of Norma Desmond. And funnily enough, it was Judy Holliday who "stole" Swanson's Oscar for Cukor's Born Yesterday that year. And wouldn't you know it, the male lead in both movies was...William Holden, who established his stardom with that 1-2 punch. HA! Holliday didn't steal Swanson's Oscar. She deserved her win. One of classic Hollywood's finest comedians. Swanson still playing that character with a 20s/30s diva acting style in 1950 was totally out of date. |
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Post by SeanJoyce on Sept 8, 2023 4:42:05 GMT
What were the parentheses doing there?
That was the point you dumb, drippy twatsicle.
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