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....

[Reeth]

The Most Magnificent Picture Ever..... is often considered the most beloved, enduring and
popular film of all time




TITLE : Gone With The Wind
YEAR OF RELEASE : 1939
CLASSIFICATION : PG
DIRECTOR : Victor Fleming
PRODUCER : David O. Selznick

STARRING : Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland, Thomas Mitchell,
Barbara O'Neil, Evelyn Keyes, Ann Rutherford, George Reeves, Fred Crane, Hattie McDaniel,
Oscar Polk.

TAGLINE :
* The most magnificent picture ever!


Adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, this dazzling epic stars Vivien Leigh as the tempestuous Scarlett O'Hara and Clark Gable as the dashing Rhett Butler. Forever linked by passion and separated by pride and self-delusion, these unforgettable screen lovers bring Mitchell's immortal saga vividly to life, set against the stunning backdrop of a time and place forever Gone With the Wind.
BEST PICTURE WINNERS







Adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, this dazzling epic stars Vivien Leigh as
the tempestuous Scarlett O'Hara and Clark Gable as the dashing Rhett Butler. Forever linked by
passion and separated by pride and self-delusion, these unforgettable screen lovers bring Mitchell's i
mmortal saga vividly to life, set against the stunning backdrop of a time and place forever
Gone With the Wind.



Vivien Leigh is coquettish Southern belle Scarlett O'Hara, Clark Gable is gambler-rogue Rhett Butler,
in one of the best-loved films of all time. Olivia de Havilland, Leslie Howard and Hattie McDaniel co-star
in this epic of love and loyalty in the Civil War South. Winner of 10 Academy Awards, including Best
Picture, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress....

Sidney Howard's script was derived from Margaret Mitchell's first and only published, best-selling Civil
War and Reconstruction Period novel of 1,037 pages that first appeared in 1936, but was mostly
written in the late 1920s. Producer David O. Selznick had acquired the film rights to Mitchell's novel in
July, 1936 for $50,000 - a record amount at the time to an unknown author for her first novel, causing
some to label the film "Selznick's Folly." At the time of the film's release, the fictional book had
surpassed 1.5 million copies sold. More records were set when the film was first aired on television
in two parts in late 1976, and controversy arose when it was restored and released theatrically in
1998.




The famous film, shot in three-strip Technicolor, is cinema's greatest, star-studded, historical epic film of the Old South during wartime that boasts an immortal cast in a timeless, classic tale of a love-hate romance. The indomitable heroine, Scarlett O'Hara, struggles to find love during the chaotic Civil War years and afterwards, and ultimately must seek refuge for herself and her family back at the beloved plantation Tara. There, she takes charge, defends it against Union soldiers, carpetbaggers, and starvation itself. She finally marries her worldly admirer Rhett Butler, but her apathy toward him in their marriage dooms their battling relationship, and she again returns to Tara to find consolation - indomitable.

Authenticity is enhanced by the costuming, sets, and variations on Stephen Foster songs and other excerpts from Civil War martial airs. Its opening, only a few months after WWII began in Europe, helped American audiences to identify with the war story and its theme of survival...



With three years advance publicity and Hollywood myth-making, three and one-half hours running time
(with one intermission), a gala premiere in Atlanta on December 15, 1939, highest-grossing film status
(eventually reaching $200 million), and Max Steiner's sweeping musical score, the
exquisitely-photographed, Technicolor film was a blockbuster in its own time. A budgeted investment
of over $4 million in production costs was required - an enormous, record-breaking sum. The film
(originally rough-cut at 6 hours in length) was challenging in its making, due to its controversial
subject matter (including rape, drunkenness, moral dissipation and adultery) and its epic qualities,
with more than 50 speaking roles and 2,400 extras.....



A nationwide casting search for an actress to play the Southern belle Scarlett resulted in the hiring of
young British actress Vivien Leigh, although over 30 other actresses (some well-known, and some
amateurs) had been tested or considered including: Katharine Hepburn, Miriam Hopkins,
Susan Hayward, Loretta Young, Paulette Goddard, Margaret Sullavan, Barbara Stanwyck,
Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, Lana Turner, Joan Bennett, Mae West, Tallulah Bankhead,
Jean Arthur, and Lucille Ball. Although MGM star Clark Gable was expected to play the role of
the dashing war profiteer Rhett Butler, Errol Flynn, Ronald Colman, and Gary Cooper were also
considered for the part. Author Margaret Mitchell told a reporter she favored Basil Rathbone for the
male lead. The four principal stars were billed in this order: Clark Gable, followed by Leslie Howard
and Olivia de Havilland, and then Vivien Leigh last with "...and presenting" -- that is, until she won t
he Oscar and it was changed to "starring."....

The landmark film received tremendous accolades, more than any previous films to date: thirteen
nominations and eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (Victor Fleming - the
only credited director), Best Actress (Vivien Leigh), a posthumous Best Screenplay (Sidney Howard,
along with collaborative assistance from Edwin Justin Mayer, John Van Druten, Ben Hecht, F. Scott
Fitzgerald, and Jo Swerling) - the first post-humous winner of its kind, Best Color Cinematography,
Best Interior Decoration, Best Film Editing, and Best Supporting Actress (Hattie McDaniel - the first
time an African-American had been nominated and honored) and two honorary plaques, one for
production designer William Cameron Menzies for the "use of color for the enhancement of dramatic
mood," and the other a technical production award for Don Musgrave for "pioneering in the use
of coordinated equipment."