March 13, 2013

The Last Ten Movies I Saw

By michaelgloversmith

1. The Raven (Brabin)
2. Ward Six (Pintilie)
3. Loves of a Blonde (Forman)
4. Ride Lonesome (Boetticher)
5. Miller’s Crossing (Coen/Coen)
6. The Awful Truth (McCarey)
7. Goldstein (Kaufman/Manaster)
8. Rome, Open City (Rossellini)
9. Germany Year Zero (Rossellini)
10. The Asthenic Syndrome (Muratova)

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About michaelgloversmith

Filmmaker, author and Film Studies instructor. View all posts by michaelgloversmith
This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 13th, 2013 at 1:33 pm and posted in The Last Ten Movies I Saw. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

4 responses to “The Last Ten Movies I Saw”

  • Mitchell
    March 13th, 2013 at 2:42 pm

    1- So, what did you think of Loves of a Blonde? Lovely, no? It seems like the Czech films of the time outdo what the French were supposedly doing with the New Wave stuff.

    2- The Awful Truth. Aaaah! After The Palm Beach Story it is the greatest screwball comedy, no?

    3- I meant to ask you if you get Turner Classics. I see on your list you have a few of the Rossellini films and they are featuring his stuff this month. Last week was the post war stuff, this week the Ingrid Bergman stuff, the week after the historical stuff. I haven’t seen too much of him but I do love The Flowers of Saint Francis and am really looking forward to seeing the Socrates!

    Reply
    • michaelgloversmith
      March 13th, 2013 at 3:12 pm

      Loves of a Blonde was indeed lovely. It reminded me a lot of Closely Watched Trains in terms of its depiction of sex, which I imagine must have been liberating for Eastern European viewers in the 60s. I think it’s a bit of a stretch to rate the Czech New Wave above the Nouvelle Vague though! Then again, with the exception of Truffaut (who I find overrated), I’m a huge French New Wave fan. I’m really looking forward to The Firemen’s Ball.

      That’s funny you bring up The Palm Beach Story. I always say Awful Truth is the best screwball after The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek.

      I don’t get TCM, unfortunately, but I love Rossellini. He’s my favorite Italian director. Every phase of his career is amazing. Voyage in Italy (which is regrettably most often translated as Voyage TO Italy) is one of my 10 favorite films.

      Reply
      • Mitchell
        March 13th, 2013 at 7:07 pm

        Voyage In Italy is on the Friday as well as Fear , Stromboli and Europa 51. Can’t wait. I agree about Truffaut. His stuff doesn’t wear well. Just taped Made In USA and saw just the opening and found it really funny. I am not saying that I place the Czech New Wave over the French one at all. In fact, they really are two different kinds of things both historically and artistically. Fireman’s Ball I remember as kind of odd. I have a special memory of it. Both the film of Nashville and the book of Ragtime came out about the same time. I couldn’t see how anyone else but Altman could direct the film version of the book. When it was announced that Milos Forman would direct, I was crestfallen especially since I felt One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest robbed Nashville at the Oscars. It just so happened that E L Doctorow came to speak at my school. At the Q&A afterwards I asked him if he has seen Nashville. He had. I then asked him having seen the film and having written Ragtime wasn’t it obvious that Altman was the only choice to direct it? His reply was ‘See The Fireman’s Ball’.
        Well, a Ragtime by Altman would have been historic and the one by Forman is largely forgotten. I can’t wait to tell Doctorow ‘I told you so!’

      • michaelgloversmith
        March 13th, 2013 at 10:26 pm

        Great Doctorow story! I read Billy Bathgate when I was a kid (and really enjoyed it) but haven’t read anything since.

        Made in USA is the only Godard film of the 60s I don’t really like.

        Fear, Stromboli and Europa 51 are all great – though, to split hairs, Stromboli is probably the best and Fear probably the least good.

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