Hollywood Movie Reviews......... Options

[Reeth]

Please review and express your feelings about the Hollywood movies old and new ,that you have watched,liked & would recommend to the other members ......

I start off with an all time favourite film of my entire family....i have lost count of the number of times
i have watched this since the time.....

The Ten Commandments (1956)






It is one of the Greatest movies ever made in the history of World Cinema...
The film covers the life of Moses from his discovery in a basket floating on the Nile as a baby by
Bithiah, a childless young widow and daughter of the then-Pharaoh, Rameses I, to his eventual
departure from Israel in the wake of God's judgment that he not be allowed to enter the Promised
Land. In between, the film depicts the early adulthood of Moses as a beloved foster son of
Pharaoh Seti I (successor of Rameses I and brother of Bithiah) and general of his armies, his
romance with Throne Princess Nefertari and rivalry with the Pharaoh's own son,
Prince RamesesII.

Critics have argued that considerable liberties were taken with the Biblical story, affecting the film's
claim to authenticity, but this has had little effect on its popularity.....

Aside from winning the Academy Award for Best Effects, Special Effects, it was also nominated for
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color, Best Cinematography, Color, Best Costume Design,
Color (Edith Head, Ralph Jester, John Jensen, Dorothy Jeakins and Arnold Friberg), Best Film Editing,
Best Picture and Best Sound, Recording







Cecil B DeMille’s swan song is a movie for the ages. At 75 the legendary director was at the
peak of his fame, his name a house-hold word and his voice recognized by millions. He probably
knew The Ten Commandments would be his last film it almost killed him. He certainly knew it
would be his most important.

Shot in widescreen Technicolor, The Ten Commandments remains the standard by which
Biblical epics -- and many epics in general -- are measured
When Moses turns his staff into a snake and back again, the effect is seamless. His turning of the Nile
into blood is an impressive camera trick, but his parting of the Red Sea is one of Hollywood's most
famous stunts. It's worth sitting through the 220 minutes of movie for this alone....

MAIN CAST

#Charlton Heston as Moses
# Yul Brynner as Pharaoh Rameses II
# Anne Baxter as Nefertari
# Edward G. Robinson as Dathan
# Yvonne De Carlo as Sephora
# Debra Paget as Lilia
# John Derek as Joshua
# Sir Cedric Hardwicke as Pharaoh Seti I

But the Ten Commandments isn’t about God alone.... It’s about a woman, Neferteri the beauty of
Egypt, and whom she marries will become Pharoe and rule the Earth...she prefers Moses who races
chariots and saves old women from being crushed under the monumental obilisk he is raising in honor
of Neferteri’s father — and helped by the fact he’s played by manly-man Charlton Heston who looks
great,She does not want Ramses, the delicious Yul Brenner who wants Neferteri because of the
wealth and power that comes with her.
Moses is banished and Neferteri is forced to marry Ramses instead.
History might know about Moses and Ramses, but DeMille knew about
scorned women.....




It remains one of the five most successful films of all time.It is Cecil B. DeMille’s last and arguably
greatest film.....Definitely worth watching....

[mmuk2004]

A random review to give you an idea of the plot:

DECONSTRUCTING HARRY
Starring Woody Allen, Judy Davis, Billy Crystal and Robin Williams
Directed by Woody Allen
Rated R, with strong, frequent profanity
Running time 95 minutes
Jack gives this film a rating of 10 out of 10



By Jack Garner
Democrat and Chronicle
(Jan. 2, 1998) -- "I'm no good at life but I write well." So says writer Harry Block, the morally bankrupt philanderer at the center of Deconstructing Harry.

And since Harry is played by Woody Allen -- who also wrote and directed the film -- it's easy the way the blend of Allen's checkered personal life and superb artistry have fueled this brilliant film.

Deconstructing Harry is a devastatingly honest, hysterically funny film. While his work is always known for its self-analytical bent, this is the filmmaker's first movie in several years to put his own public persona centerstage. It's easily one of his finest films yet, and one of the best movies of 1997.

Allen reportedly thought of titling the movie The Worst Man in the World; certainly, he's never been so hard on himself before. After all, he's been devilish before, but in this film he literally goes to hell.

Harry Block is a successful Manhattan novelist whose tales have been built around the author's foibles, endless sexual exploits and a path through life littered with betrayed friends and lovers.

"You take everyone's suffering and turn it into gold," says Lucy, his roaringly angry sister-in-law (Judy Davis), after she comes to his apartment, bent on revenge. "I want to kill the black magician."

Lucy will have to wait in line. There are plenty other companions and former lovers and wives who'd love to turn him into chopped liver.

Of course, Harry doesn't see why everyone's so upset with him. He's a master of rationalization. For example, when he's accused of creating a life of nihilism, sarcasm and orgasm, he retorts, "In France, I could run on that ticket and win."

To deconstruct Harry, filmmaker Allen cuts back and forth between dual realities -- Harry's real misguided adventures and the reflections of that life through the characters of his books (brought to life on film).

And to populate both worlds, Allen has assembled one of his most entertaining and diverse casts. Besides the fabulous Davis, there are Kirstie Alley, Richard Benjamin, Eric Bogosian, Demi Moore, Mariel Hemingway, Amy Irving, Elisabeth Shue, Stanley Tucci, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Billy Crystal as the devil.

If that's not enough, Robin Williams contributes a cameo in the film's most original and hilarious aside; he plays a movie actor who is shocked to discover he's always out of focus. (The bit has to be seen to be understood -- and laughed at.)

Allen also experiments here with rougher language than he's ever used before on film. Nonetheless, the profanity seems part and parcel to a guy like Harry, so it's tough to argue with his decision.

Like Harry, of course, Allen has demonstrated a remarkable ability to achieve superb artistry, even during his very public 1990s crisis with Mia Farrow, their children and new bride Soon-Yi Previn. But Allen has seldom been as technically assured as he is with Deconstructing Harry.

The film opens, for example, with quick, jerky repeated cuts of Judy Davis, as Lucy, getting out of a cab to confront Harry. Though we're initially confused, we eventually realize Allen has discovered a visual way to depict the out-of-control rage in Lucy -- the scene is a visual equivalent of sputtering with anger.

It's just one of the many elements in "Deconstructing Harry " that display Allen's continued mastery as a filmmaker. Like Harry, Allen's life is a mess, but he's a heck of an artist.

And that's what should matter to his audience.