1934 Line-ups.

idioticbunny
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1934 Line-ups. Jul 20, 2017 21:36:15 GMT

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Post by idioticbunny on Jul 20, 2017 21:36:15 GMT

A step up from the last year, but the year if half really strong highlights and half really disappointing and messy films. Strange that so many people consider L'Atalante one of the best films ever, I felt like it was nothing special at all aside from the cinematography. Definitely would love some opinions there, but Scarlet Empress is easily the most disappointing von Sternberg film yet. Dietrich is mostly unconvincing and the story itself is so bland and pointless - feels like the film only exists for fancy costumes and art design. That being said, my top four are fantastic films and some of the best of the decade. Les Mis in particular, is so so so close to a perfect 10 - absolutely blown away. Also amazing that a near five-hour film just flew by so quickly. I was never a fan of Les Mis, especially the most recent adaptation that I thought was borderline awful, but this one absolutely took my breath away. Harry Baur's performance in particular is probably my favorite of the decade so far.

As for Hitchcock, I have no idea why The Man Who Knew Too Much has a 6.9 rating on IMDB, it was so damn fantastic and on par with some of Hitchcock's best. Waltzes from Vienna (aka Strauss' Great Waltz) was one Hitchcock called the "lowest ebb" of his career, yet I actually think it's pretty damn well-made and one of the most inventive uses of sound I've seen thus far, even if the story is a bit weak.

Best Picture:
01. Les Misérables.
02. The Man Who Knew Too Much.
03. The Thin Man.
04. It Happened One Night.
05. The Gay Divorcee.
06. Imitation of Life.
07. Waltzes from Vienna.
08. Dames.
09. Twentieth Century.
10. The Lost Patrol.
-----------------
11. L'Atalante.
12. The Scarlet Empress.

Best Director:
01. Alfred Hitchcock - The Man Who Knew Too Much.
02. Raymond Bernard - Les Misérables.
03. Ray Enright & Busby Berkeley - Dames.
04. W.S. Van Dyke - The Thin Man.
05. Frank Capra - It Happened One Night.

Best Actor:
01. Harry Baur - Les Misérables.
02. John Barrymore - Twentieth Century.
03. William Powell - The Thin Man.
04. Clark Gable - It Happened One Night.
05. Fred Astaire - The Gay Divorcee.

Best Actress:
01. Claudette Colbert - It Happened One Night.
02. Claudette Colbert - Imitation of Life.
03. Ginger Rogers - The Gay Divorcee.
04. Dita Parlo - L'Atalante.
05. Marlene Dietrich - The Scarlet Empress.

Best Supporting Actor:
01. Peter Lorre - The Man Who Knew Too Much.
02. Edmund Gwenn - Waltzes from Vienna.
03. Guy Kibbee - Dames.
04. Edward Everett Horton - The Gay Divorcee.
05. Sam Jaffe - The Scarlet Empress.

Best Supporting Actress:
01. Carole Lombard - Twentieth Century.
02. Florelle - Les Misérables.
03. Louise Beavers - Imitation of Life.
04. Fredi Washington - Imitation of Life.
05. Alice Brady - The Gay Divorcee.

Best Original Screenplay:
01. The Man Who Knew Too Much.
02. Dames.
03. L'Atalante.

Best Adapted Screenplay:
01. The Thin Man.
02. It Happened One Night.
03. Les Misérables.
04. Twentieth Century.
05. Imitation of Life.

Best Ensemble:
01. Les Misérables.
02. Imitation of Life.
03. Twentieth Century.
04. Dames.
05. The Gay Divorcee.

Best Editing:
The Man Who Knew Too Much.

Best Cinematography:
Les Misérables.

Best Art Direction:
The Scarlet Empress.

Best Costume Design:
Les Misérables.

Best Makeup:
Les Misérables.

Best Visual Effects:
Dames.

Best Sound Design:
Waltzes from Vienna.

Best Original Score:
Arthur Honegger - Les Misérables.

Best Original Song:
"I Only Have Eyes for You" - Dames.

1935 looks to be a bit of a drag of a year, so I'm open to all kinds of recommendations. I've already seen The 39 Steps, and I've re-watched it recently and I don't think anything could really top it but I'd love to be surprised.

Last Edit: Jul 31, 2017 21:23:00 GMT by idioticbunny

pickpocket
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1934 Line-ups. Jul 21, 2017 1:51:38 GMT

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Post by pickpocket on Jul 21, 2017 1:51:38 GMT

What did you think of Dames? I've put it on the backburner, because I suspect it's not quite the calibre of Footlight Parade and Golddiggers of 1933.

1935 is actually not bad. A few films I'd recommend:

The Good Fairy -- almost odd that William Wyler directed this, because it has a sort of Ernst Lubitsch/Mitchell Leisen feel about it. Delightful romantic comedy. Margaret Sullavan and Herbert Marshall might sound like an odd combination on paper, but they work so wonderfully (and whimsically) together.
Hands Across the Table -- A glossy Paramount effort on the surface, using all those soft glow camera tricks and stylish set designs, but also quite a solid romantic comedy. One of Lombard's best.
Sazen Tange and the Pot Worth a Million Ryo -- Possibly not the easiest film to track (Eureka! released the surviving Sadao Yamanaka's films in a DVD boxset, all three are worthwhile), but it's one of the most charming, humanistic comedies to come out of Japan.
The Whole Town's Talking -- An interesting early John Ford effort. In the sort of His Girl Friday/Frank Capra vein. Great showcase of Edward G. Robinson's versatility, and an early indication of the kind of performances Jean Arthur would graduate towards.

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tobias
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1934 Line-ups. Jul 21, 2017 12:45:27 GMT

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Post by tobias on Jul 21, 2017 12:45:27 GMT

Surprised you didn't get into the last 2. These are actually some of my favorites from the year. I agree that L'atalante isn't perfect but it does feel incredibly otherworldly as it manages to lift itself from reality but to stay remarkably close to it at the same time. The Scarlet Empress I enjoy for the overbearing sense of dread and impending doom. Everyone in the film hates each other and you know it's going to explode, the bombastic visuals pay perfectly into that.

Les Mis I'm still to check out but I know many people like it a lot. It's one of Catrician's very favorites as far as I know. Otherwise I've only seen It Happened One Night and The Man Who Knew too Much which I both think are good but I don't have too much to say about them other than that Capra is a great director and that I don't understand why people prefer the '56 The Man Who Knew Too Much which is still my least favorite Hitchcock that I've seen.

Edit: As for '35 I think you'd like Top Hat but from what I've seen it doesn't seem to be the strongest year.

Last Edit: Jul 21, 2017 12:47:18 GMT by tobias

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stephen
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1934 Line-ups. Jul 21, 2017 14:15:53 GMT idioticbunny likes this

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Post by stephen on Jul 21, 2017 14:15:53 GMT

Recommendations for '35:

• The Informer
• Top Hat
• The 39 Steps
• Anna Karenina
• The Bride of Frankenstein
• Captain Blood
• The Crusades
• Les Miserables
• Mutiny on the Bounty
• Ruggles of Red Gap

Last Edit: Jul 21, 2017 17:32:23 GMT by stephen

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idioticbunny
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1934 Line-ups. Jul 21, 2017 17:28:26 GMT

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Post by idioticbunny on Jul 21, 2017 17:28:26 GMT

Jul 21, 2017 1:51:38 GMT pickpocket said:

What did you think of Dames? I've put it on the backburner, because I suspect it's not quite the calibre of Footlight Parade and Golddiggers of 1933.

1935 is actually not bad. A few films I'd recommend:

The Good Fairy -- almost odd that William Wyler directed this, because it has a sort of Ernst Lubitsch/Mitchell Leisen feel about it. Delightful romantic comedy. Margaret Sullavan and Herbert Marshall might sound like an odd combination on paper, but they work so wonderfully (and whimsically) together.
Hands Across the Table -- A glossy Paramount effort on the surface, using all those soft glow camera tricks and stylish set designs, but also quite a solid romantic comedy. One of Lombard's best.
Sazen Tange and the Pot Worth a Million Ryo -- Possibly not the easiest film to track (Eureka! released the surviving Sadao Yamanaka's films in a DVD boxset, all three are worthwhile), but it's one of the most charming, humanistic comedies to come out of Japan.
The Whole Town's Talking -- An interesting early John Ford effort. In the sort of His Girl Friday/Frank Capra vein. Great showcase of Edward G. Robinson's versatility, and an early indication of the kind of performances Jean Arthur would graduate towards.

I haven't seen Gold Diggers of 1933, so I can't compare to that, but it's honestly about on par with 42nd Street. Both films have fantastic musical elements, and a wide variety of interesting characters, the only thing is that 42nd Street seemed to actually delve more into those characterizations where as Dames played them up for laughs. Granted, it was funny, but there was just something lacking that the musicals the previous year had captured well enough. Still a decent film, though, and always worth it for Busby Berkeley's marvelous techniques.

Strangely enough, I've not heard of a single one of those, so I'll look into them. Thanks again for the obscure recommendations! The Good Fairy sounds up my alley, and I'd love to see Edward G. Robinson in something non-gangster, non-wisecracker. Though I think I'll be saving my John Ford this year for The Informer.

idioticbunny
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1934 Line-ups. Jul 21, 2017 17:41:32 GMT

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Post by idioticbunny on Jul 21, 2017 17:41:32 GMT

Jul 21, 2017 12:45:27 GMT tobias said:

Surprised you didn't get into the last 2. These are actually some of my favorites from the year. I agree that L'atalante isn't perfect but it does feel incredibly otherworldly as it manages to lift itself from reality but to stay remarkably close to it at the same time. The Scarlet Empress I enjoy for the overbearing sense of dread and impending doom. Everyone in the film hates each other and you know it's going to explode, the bombastic visuals pay perfectly into that.

Les Mis I'm still to check out but I know many people like it a lot. It's one of Catrician's very favorites as far as I know. Otherwise I've only seen It Happened One Night and The Man Who Knew too Much which I both think are good but I don't have too much to say about them other than that Capra is a great director and that I don't understand why people prefer the '56 The Man Who Knew Too Much which is still my least favorite Hitchcock that I've seen.

Edit: As for '35 I think you'd like Top Hat but from what I've seen it doesn't seem to be the strongest year.

Perhaps that's the thing that I didn't like about L'Atalante. It felt like a story that deserved some strong realism, akin to what Russians were doing in the silent era, but instead it kind of rode this line of surreal and grounded that left me a bit conflicted. It was definitely not what I was expecting, but maybe over time my mind might change. I also realized I'm not a fan of Michel Simon. He was so good in La Chienne, but with Boudu and now this, whatever style he continues to go for just doesn't work for me.

I do like the visuals of Scarlet Empress, and I enjoyed the performances of Dresser and Jaffe, but the first half of the film had Dietrich acting at her most doughy-eyed and it just did not feel earnest to me. The second half was better, but it was still followed by a very weak and messy first half that I was already too far out of the film at that point. It sucks, too, because I love von Sternberg. Just a misfire here I think.

Les Mis is just incredible. I'm sure Cat likes it because it's over 4 hours long

but it's still just absolutely beautiful. Very few films have that potential to be both lengthy and unbelievably absorbing, and something about Raymond Bernard's work here surpasses that level. With a little more time to let it settle, it might actually be my first 10/10 of the 1930s, so obviously I strongly recommend it. Shame you're not a fan of the '56 Man Who Knew Too Much as I'm really looking forward to it. Despite Hitchcock being my favorite director, there are still quite a few of his films I haven't seen, that being one of them. I do think, however, this original version is incredible and as I mentioned, the middle-road IMDB rating compared to most of his works is baffling to me. Without having seen The Lodger, it feels like the first true Hitchcock film.

Top Hat is definitely the one film I'm looking most forward to, I think I'll eat it up. But yeah, the rest don't seem as appealing.

idioticbunny
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1934 Line-ups. Jul 21, 2017 17:43:12 GMT

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Post by idioticbunny on Jul 21, 2017 17:43:12 GMT

Jul 21, 2017 14:15:53 GMT stephen said:

Recommendations for '35:

• The Informer
• Top Hat
• The 39 Steps
• Anna Karenina
• The Bride of Frankenstein
• Captain Blood
• The Crusades
• Les Miserables
• Mutiny on the Bounty
• Ruggles of Red Gap

I really want to watch Bride, as it's probably the only other one outside of Top Hat that I'm looking forward to from 1935, but I save horror for October. However, I do really want to see The Informer.

Where would you place Garbo's Anna Karenina among the rest of her performances?

Per usual, if you have any to send my way, feel free (though I own The 39 Steps).

Last Edit: Jul 21, 2017 17:43:46 GMT by idioticbunny

stephen
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1934 Line-ups. Jul 21, 2017 17:55:04 GMT

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Post by stephen on Jul 21, 2017 17:55:04 GMT

Jul 21, 2017 17:43:12 GMT idioticbunny said:

Jul 21, 2017 14:15:53 GMT stephen said:

Recommendations for '35:

• The Informer
• Top Hat
• The 39 Steps
• Anna Karenina
• The Bride of Frankenstein
• Captain Blood
• The Crusades
• Les Miserables
• Mutiny on the Bounty
• Ruggles of Red Gap

I really want to watch Bride, as it's probably the only other one outside of Top Hat that I'm looking forward to from 1935, but I save horror for October. However, I do really want to see The Informer.

Where would you place Garbo's Anna Karenina among the rest of her performances?

Per usual, if you have any to send my way, feel free (though I own The 39 Steps).

I'd rank Garbo's Anna Karenina her second or third best performance behind Camille and Queen Christina. It's also far and away the best adaptation of that story (fuck you, Joe Wright).

Good morning, Oscar Buzz. I'm listening.

idioticbunny
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1934 Line-ups. Jul 21, 2017 18:25:05 GMT

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Post by idioticbunny on Jul 21, 2017 18:25:05 GMT

Jul 21, 2017 17:55:04 GMT stephen said:

Jul 21, 2017 17:43:12 GMT idioticbunny said:

I really want to watch Bride, as it's probably the only other one outside of Top Hat that I'm looking forward to from 1935, but I save horror for October. However, I do really want to see The Informer.

Where would you place Garbo's Anna Karenina among the rest of her performances?

Per usual, if you have any to send my way, feel free (though I own The 39 Steps).

I'd rank Garbo's Anna Karenina her second or third best performance behind Camille and Queen Christina. It's also far and away the best adaptation of that story (fuck you, Joe Wright).

Oooh, that makes me excited. I love Joe Wright as a director, but I do think his Anna Karenina was fantastic in terms of ambition, but not as fantastic in terms of understanding the intricacies of the political and romantic points of the story. I'm excited to get around to it then.