THE BEAUTIFUL TROUBLEMAKER (1991, FRANCE)

We go through a lot of DVD checkouts at the libary. Some patrons tell me that the disc they checked out wouldn't play. We do have methods to check this, (It could be your player you know!)but I took this French film home called La Belle Noiseuse home because whoever had it checked out said it wouldn't play. So I take it home. I realize it's not on the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list, but I feel I've got to be open-minded about such things and it also has an attractive French woman named Emmanuelle Beart clearly in the buff, so I take it home.

It's a real long movie. Really long. It's about a painter. He's painting a chick (that Emmanuelle Beart that I just mentioned). He's painting her. He takes a break. He poses her. And they repeat the process. A few other characters come in. Yadda Yadda Yadda. It's about four hours long.

My descripiton is sketchy becuause I really didn't sit throught the whole thing. I took advantage of fast forwarding on the remote quite a bit. I may have watched an hour of it in total.

Well, at least it's not on the 1001 movie list. I don't have to sit through the whole thing, right?

Then I was looking at a fellow 1001 blogger's post and realzed that it was on the list! Zoinks! It's under the English title A Beautiful Troublemaker and I just missed it on the list.

Do I really have to go back and watch the whole thing? Usually, I'm the one who tries to get others to watch more artsy films, but this time I'm afraid I'm going to have to argue for the other side. Please don't make me watch the whole thing again! I realy don't want to see that beautiful naked woman posed by that painter anymore! (Did I really just say that?) Oh, hell. I'm counting it! I only read about half of The Brothers Karamozov, but if you ask me if I read it, I'm not going to qualify it. I've read it, damn it! I've read it!

Steve at 1001 Plus gives this a review which I fully endorse at:
http://1001plus.blogspot.com/2012/05/watching-paint-dry.html

Sam at The Last 200 movies liked the film more than I did, but I still found his review very well done.
http://thelast200movies.blogspot.com/2011/07/132-la-belle-noiseuse-aka-beautiful.html

Read More

THE ROAD TO PERDITION (2002)

Chicago/Prohibition week (7 of 7)

Day 7 The Road to Perdition (2002)

Since I could only find six 1001 movie entries that fit this week’s category, I had to fudge the last one with an off-book film. I’m not sure why I’d never seen The Road to Perdition before. It’s in a genre I like, was well received and certainly the teaming of Paul Newman and Tom Hanks is noteworthy. It’s good to be off-book on occasion, though I think it would make my hypothetical book.

Random thought: When hitman Jude Law starts fondling a coin, I stood up and shouted, “It’s an homage to the coin flipping hood in Scarface played by George Raft!” I stopped the film to explain this to my wife, who patiently nodded with understanding and patience and asked me to restart the movie.

“There’s on thing Chicago loves more than anything and that’s their money".

"In Chicago, just a few minutes after prohibition went into effect, six masked bandits with pistols emptied two freight cars full of whiskey, another gang stole four cases of grain alcohol from a government bonded warehouse and still another hijacked a truck loaded with bourbon. Making prohibition the law of the land was one thing, enforcing it would be another. The devil would turn out to be in the details.”- –from the Ken Burns’s documentary Prohibition

Read More

CHICAGO (2003)

Chicago/Prohibition week (6 of 7)


Day 6 Chicago (2003)

One of the many films where I think the William Goldman adage of “Nobody knows anything” comes into play. Can you imagine the pitch for this film? “Okay, it’s a musical, I know musicals aren’t that popular now, but hang with me. It’s Chicago. It's been around for decades, you know. The Bob Fosse musical! I know Fosse’s dead, and he could never get this made into a film, but I’ve got another director. He’s never done any musicals, but I think he can handle it. And for the leads? I got three stars. Now they aren’t know for musicals, but I’m sure they’ll be great. Have you ever seen Richard Gere dance? And hey, we got a big solo number form John C. Reilly! This is going to be a hit, you know. Make well over $100 million domestic and I truly think it’s going to win an Oscar for Best Picture. I know they don’t give musicals Oscars anymore, but I’ll think they’ll make an exception in this case. So what do you think?”

"This is Chicago, kid. You can’t beat fresh blood on the walls"

Read More

THE UNTOUCHABLES (1987)

Chicago/Prohibition week (5 of 7)


Day 5 The Untouchables (1987)

Brian De Palma gave the old Chicago gangster film an updated treatment here to good effect.

Random thoughts: Brian De Palma is clearly a student of cinema. The best scene in the movie is the train station sequence with the baby carriage which De Palma admits was based on Battleship Potempkin. The opening scene with Capone at the barber shop reminded me a lot of Edward G. Robinson talking to the press in Smart Money.

“You want to know how to get Capone? Here’s how you get him. He pulls a gun. You pull a knife. He sends one of your to the hospital. You send one of his to the morgue. That’s the Chicago way. And that’s how you get Capone!”

Read More

SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959)

Chicago/Prohibition week (4 of 7)

Day 4 Some Like It Hot (1959)

Billy Wilder’s classic film has Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis playing two Chicago musicians that witness the St. Valentine’s Day massacre and have to go in disguise as women and join an all-girl band featuring Marilyn Monroe. The AFI voted Some Like It Hot the number one comedy of all-time and bascially, any fan of film really should see Some Like It Hot.

Random thoughts: I like the way George Raft’s coin flipping from Scarface was reprised here. I think Jack Lemmon in drag is especially good among a lively cast. And Marilyn’s “I Want to Be Loved By You,” was reprised by Lou Ann Poovie in an episode of Gomer Pyle…I did say these were random thoughts.

“Well, nobody’s perfect.”

Read More

SCARFACE (1932)

Chicago/Prohibition week (3 of 7)


Day 3 Scarface: The Shame of the Nation (1932)

I had never seen this film before and of the three from this era(Little Caesar, The Public Enemy) this is the most powerful and brutal of all of them. And Paul Muni is most menacing in his Al Caponesce role.

Random Thoughts: I never much cared for Brian De Palma’s remake of Scarface, but since there are so many elements of the original that were brought into the remake (especially the relationship between Scarface and his sister) that I probably should give the De Palma film another go.

Also of note, if you have the DVD, make sure to see the alternate ending that was tacked on to satisfy the censors (and fortunately discarded by producer Howard Hughes).

“We’ll lick them all. The South Side.The North Side. We’ll lick the whole world!”

Read More

THE PUBLIC ENEMY (1931)

Chicago/Prohibition week (2 of 7)

Day 2 The Public Enemy (1931)
The second film for this week is the gangster film that made a star of Jimmy Cagney and remains an entertaining story of bootleggers during prohibition. It is also interesting to see a film about prohibition that was made before it was repealed.

Random thoughts: It’s interesting to note that Cagney was originally supposed to play the main character’s sidekick, but was recast in the lead role at the last minute. Edward Woods, who was demoted from the lead to the secondary role, had a relatively short career in Hollywood thereafter while Cagney became one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. The famous grapefruit scene from this movie isn't quite as jarring as I remember it, but the ending is still pretty powerful.

It’s interesting that The Public Enemy and Scarface both have a scene where the tough guys force a beer proprietor to buy their beer over those of the competition.

“I aint’ so tough”

Read More