SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING (1960, GREAT BRITAIN)

Doesn't it seem like British movies have a distinctive air of, for lack of another word Britishness? 

But exactly HOW British are they?

How British is it? Month (Post 5 of 10)

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning

Part of the "new wave" of British flims. (And quite a contrast to the film I just watched, I Know Where I'm Going!) Saturday Night and Sunday Morning features Albert Finney as Arthur, a member of the poor working class who has to deal with the very grown up problems of women, booze and earning a living.

Quick knock on traditional commercial films: Arthur and his girl leave the movie theater after seeing the glossy film Pillow Talk. "That was a bad film" is his girlfriends only comment.

Is this really the same guy? After having recently seen Albert Finney as the old caretaker of Skyfall in the movie of the same name, it's a bit of a shock to see him so damn young here.

I've seen this guy before: It took me awhile to place Norman Rossington, who played Arthur's friend Bert as later playing The Beatles road manager in A Hard Day's Night.

The 1001 list could use come more British movies from the 60's: The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, Morgan! A Suitable Case for Treatment and The Knack and How to Get It Come to Mind. Granted, I haven't seen these film in awhile and could change my mind if I watched them again.

How British Is It? Well, I tell ya's. As I light up a fag and thrown down a quid for a pint or three before I go and try to find me a duck to reddog, I figure I'd have to be balmy to not put this one high up on the Brit scale. I'm not crackers, after all.

Rating for Britishness from 1-10: I'd have to be daft to not give this at least a "new wave" 9.

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I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING! (1945, GREAT BRITAIN)

Doesn't it seem like British movies have a distinctive air of, for lack of another word Britishness? 

But exactly HOW British are they?

How British is it? Month (Post 4 of 10)

I Know Where I'm Going!

Powell and Pressburger's romance may be best remembered for bringing to life a most dreamlike place called Killoran...whether we ever manage to get there or not. 

But how British is it? Answer: Really not very British at all. But with the films emphasis on fog, mist, castles, bogs, lochs, moors, myths, legends, falconry, lairds, plaid skirts, a rousing ceilidh with bagpipes a'playin' and blokes and lassies speaking in Gaelic, it's damn sure Scottish!

Rating for Britishness from 1-10: Only about a 3 or 4
Rating for Scottishness from 1-10: Definitely a 10! 

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THINGS TO COME (1936, GREAT BRITAIN)

                                                                     

Doesn't it seem like British movies have a distinctive air of, for lack of another word Britishness? 

But exactly HOW British are they?

How British is it? month (Post 3 of 10)

Things to Come

Plot Summary: John Cabal and others are distressed at the potential for an oncoming World War in the British Everytown during Christmas. Their fears come true as a relentless World War begins that leads to famine, plague, societal degeneration and a disarming lack of petrol during the next thirty years. In 1974, Everytown is visited by a man in a futuristic flying machine who turns out to be John Cabal himself. Cabal is part of a society that is called Wings Over the World that has renounced war. After a fierce struggle with Everytown's evil local warlord, Cabal and Wings Over the World triumph and begin to build a new society. We finally end up in 2036, where Everytown's future toga wearing society lead by one of Cabal's descendants has advanced to a position where they are ready to send someone to the moon. They are in for a struggle, as some in this society fear change and progress and will do anything they can to stop it.

This very early entry into sci-fi is interesting as a curio and the special effects aren't too bad either. H. G. Wells's Things to Come does come across as a little pompous and preachy at times and those toga outfits are a more than a little weird. But there are some neat plot threads in this film such as the continued presence of John Cabal as well as Wells accurate prediction of an upcoming World War. Of course, Wells also predicts we'll send a man to the moon by the year 2036 and "SPOILER" we (in the real world) actually got there a bit sooner than that.

But How British is it? Well it's pretty British in that the setting is the British Everytown and the decisions that determine the fate of this world are determined by Warlords or Toga Wearing Englishmen as if England were still the center of the universe. 

Rating for Britishness from 1-10: Let's give it a 7

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THE LADY VANISHES (1938, GREAT BRITAIN)

Doesn't it seem like British movies have a distinctive air of, for lack of another word Britishness? 

But exactly HOW British are they?

How British is it? Month (Post 2 of 10)

One of the last of Hitchock's British films is noteworthy for its very snappy dialogue, intriguing plot and very likable lead actors (Michael Redgrave, Margaret Lockwood and Dame May Whitty). The action scenes near the end don't seem to hold up too well, but it's still a fun film to watch.

But how British is it?Quite British indeed! Especially seen in the supporting characters of Charters and Caldicott and their somewhat excessive love of the very British game of cricket.

Rating for Britishness from 1-10: About an 8. However, the section on Bandrika gets a 10 for its "Bandrikaness."

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THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP (1943, GREAT BRITAIN)

Doesn't it seem like British movies have a distinctive air of, for lack of another word Britishness?
But exactly HOW British are they?

How British is it? month (Post 1 of 10)

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

Powell and Pressburger's involving and epic story of forty years of a soldier's life is told mostly in flashback and though it took me awhile to catch up with the story, I eventually did.

But how British is it? Well, you don't get more British than the by-the-book Colonel Blimp. Colonel Blimp's stand that England won the first World War while fighting clean and within the rules (unlike those evil Germans!) made me think about the British stiff upper lip and all that sort of thing. Of course, his fair fighting might not work as well for World War II. This is 1943 after all, we don't know how this World War sequel thing is going to end. But war starts at midnight, eh?

Rating for Britishness from 1-10: About a 9

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CITY LIGHTS (1931), THE GENERAL (1926), THE PAWNSHOP (1916), THE PALEFACE (1922)

The Golden Age of Comedy (Post 12 of 12: The final battle)

Chaplin Fan: Good evening and welcome to Classic Movies Revisited. Tonight we are going to dredge up a debate that’s been going on for over eighty years. That is, deciding who was the king of silent film comedians, Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton. I’m Chaplin Fan. And please, let’s stick to the films and not hold against Charlie his succession of teenage wives or any political views.

Keaton Fan: And I’m Keaton Fan. And yes, don’t hold against my guy that he later appeared in Beach Blanket Bingo.

Chaplin Fan: Deal. Go on.

Keaton Fan: My submission for the jury is Buster’s 1926 classic The General and since we need to have a short as well, I have chosen The Paleface from 1922. Why, The Paleface? Well, because I had a copy handy on VHS.

Chaplin Fan: My submission for the jury is Charlot’s 1931 classic City Lights and since I needed to pick a short as well, I chose The Pawnshop from 1916. Why did I choose The Pawnshop? Because I had a Super 8mm copy of this film in the 70’s. and I wanted to relive the memory. So make your case for The Great Stone Face.

Keaton Fan: Gladly. First of all, the most important question to answer about any silent comedy is: was it funny? Well, yes. Keaton films are damn funny. You want physical comedy? Nobody could do their own stunts like Keaton. He was an amazing visual artist. He could make something simple like about to get burned at the stake in The Paleface funny just by moving slightly away from where the tribe is about to light the fire underneath him. And the stunts on the train during The General are not only funny, they forwarded the plot and some of them makes you wonder how in the world did he do that? And he wasn’t all about stunts. Subtle scenes like the Union general burning a hole in the tablecloth and Keaton using the hole to catch a glimpse of his true love were great. Chaplin was always the one that had a reputation for demonstrating pathos or sympathy for his character, but look at the final scene of The General where Keaton states his occupation as “soldier.” I dare you not to shed a tear to that one. Now make your case for The Little Tramp.

Chaplin Fan: Thank you. In viewing The Pawnshop and City Lights, I noticed Charlie’s growth from the most popular movie star in the world to the greatest artist in the world. Charlie could find comic gold in getting caught in a ladder, fixing a cuckoo clock or accidentally foiling a heist. And in City Lights, how can you beat the opening scene of the unveiling of a statue with the Little Tramp on its lap. And the last shot of the tramp smiling when the blind flower girl regains her sight. Find a more touching ending of any movie. EVER! I haven’t even talked about the boxing scene. Hilarious, masterful and better every time you see it. Charlie always worked with great supporting foils and feemes. John Rand, Edna Purviance and others in his films were the greatest supporting comic actors of the day and Chaplin wasn't afraid to use them-

Keaton Fan: -Hold on a second. Why are we arguing?

Chaplin Fan: I don’t know. We’ve always argued about this.

Keaton Fan: Why don’t we work together? I think Chaplin was great, just not as great as Keaton.

Chaplin Fan: And I think Keaton was great, just not as great as Chaplin.

Keaton Fan: Isn’t it hard enough to get a modern audience to appreciate any black & white movie, yet alone a silent one.

Chaplin Fan: I’m with you. It’s a comic art form in cinema that was unique and will never come back. Let’s appreciate it.

Keaton Fan: Work together?

Chaplin Fan: Together.

Keaton Fan and Chaplin Fan shake hands.

Keaton Fan and Chaplin Fan stare at each other in silence.

Keaton Fan: (pointing) Keaton is number one!

Chaplin Fan: (pointing back) Chaplin is number one!

Keaton Fan huffs and exits stage left.

Chaplin Fan huffs and exits stage right.

A giant title card drops on the stage which reads: THE END

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STEAMBOAT BILL, JR. (1928)

The Golden Age of Comedy (Post 11 of 12)

Steamboat Bill Jr.

Steamboat Bill Jr. really shows off the common Buster Keaton film theme of Buster having to prove himself. In Steamboat Bill Jr., he has to prove himself seaworthy to his seadog father and worthy of marrying the girl he loves.

My favorite bit in the movie has Buster trying to sneak some tools in a loaf of bread so his father can escape from the local jail. There's also a lot of fun bits with the acrobatic Keaton almost falling off the ship into the water time and time again.

But as with many of his films, the highlight of Steamboat Bill, Jr. is the final chase or action sequence. This time, we have a cyclone that destroys everything around Buster, and the special effects are...well, how the hell did they do all that in 1928?

I'm a little sad to see the last of the Keaton films on my list. (I do realize I can see others that aren't on the sacred 1001 movie scrolls, however!). It's been fun to have a reminder just what a special talent he was.



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